The Academy
by XxsmilesandlaughsxX
Summary: 30 very gifted teens are all accepted into StoneWall Academy where they undergo the challenges of schoolwork, drama, romances, and developing their...talents.-mostly Duncan/Courtney but other pairings included. Rated a T/M just incase review please!
1. chapter 1

prologe

Duncan's POV

I laid in my bed silently tracing the metals bars of the bunk above me. There was a rather large dent in the frame. I couldn't help but smile at the memory of how it happened. It was how I got one of the most reckless and dangerous reputations here. A week into my first…experience I had gotten jumped several times. After all it was tradition to gang up on the new kid, as I now know. I didn't however know that when I first got there. During bathrooms breaks, meal times, and free time, I would get jumped. In a short week though I got sick of it. I couldn't just stand still and pray until God knows when for some kind of relief, that wasn't me, so I started to fight back and hard. I was a good fighter to begin with, being that my entire family was in the force and taught me a few moves, plus I got into a lot of fights after school with loud mouths that got on my nerves. So I was pretty well off when I got in my first "fight"there. Sure I lost but I had expected to start off rocky. I had to get my bearings and figure these guys out. It was around my fifth "fight" that I finally came on top. Soon I was taking on anyone no matter the size, if they messed with me they weren't going to walk out of it in one piece. Word was starting to spread that I was a fighter, and that apparently wasn't ok with a few of the older guys who thought it was their personal duty to make every newbie's' life a living Hell.

Their so called "leader" especially didn't like it. He did every stupid thing he could think of just to get me ticked, so that I would "stay in my place".

"Ha!"I looked at the dent once more tracing the inward curve with my fingertips, my smile growing even larger as the scene continued to play in my mind.

One day he thought it would be funny to screw with my food at lunch time. So he walked over to me very calmly and spat in my food, as if it were nothing. Like he was adding salt instead of his nasty saliva, and then he just looked at me with his stupid snarl daring me to do something about it. I couldn't back down from that, there was no way I could walk away from such an insult. Before he could even blink I knocked him out of his chair with a right hook. The guards were quick to throw me off into solitary confinement but not before I could get in another good swing or two. Once I got out the guy tried to get me back, but I was ready for it, I was prepared. I did push ups and sit ups until my body couldn't move while I was in there, to make sure I would make a statement. When I was sent back to my small cell that night he followed after ready for a fight. It was a short fight and I was able to pin him after a few exchanges of blows. And even though I won and he was pretty much knocked out I didn't stop. This guy was going to remember who he tried to mess with, so for extra effect I slammed his head into the side of the bed creating a large dent. He was in a slight coma for a week, and my status was accelerated, it was a win/win situation. Ever since then I've run juvie, I'm known and feared by all, even by those outside of center.

"Duncan, you awake?" my parole officer Jimmy was squinting in the dark to see if my eyes were cracked opened or shut. I knew if I didn't answer then he would leave me to my peace. He was one of the few officers here that I liked; the others were just power pushers. They did anything and everything to make them bigger, to show they had more power. They would have rattled at my bars until I woke up, or they would come barging in and shaking my bed. It was for that reason that I answered him.

"Yeah, is there a reason you callin' this early Jimmy? I know I'm an amazing person but God, I need my space!" I said sarcastically. Jimmy was also one of the only few officers I could throw sarcasm at and not get in trouble for it.

"Well as much as I do love your personality, I'm not here for a social call D, you got a guest" Jimmy threw back jokingly. He had already turned on my cell light and I could see that he had rushed into his clothes.

"What time is it?" I couldn't help but ask I usually woke up earlier then everyone else but since I didn't have a clock I could never be sure.

"6:30" was all he said as he started walking back down the hall. He knew I would follow, so he didn't have to keep a close watch on me. Sure I busted out of this place a lot but it was never under Jimmy's watch. I didn't want him getting in trouble or anything-not because I cared but the other officers bored me.

"Who would be coming here to visit me at 6:30? My family doesn't love me that much", my joke echoed down the empty hallways as I quickly pushed my sneakers on and ran after him.

When we got to the visiting area there was a man that looked to be about 40 years old sitting at the table. His build was lean and average and his snow white hair was brushed back into a ponytail. It looked like thousands of feathers were just sitting on top of his head, and it was completely out of place. Going just by his hair I would have guessed him to be maybe 70 or 80.

"Hello Duncan", he calmly said gesturing to the seat across from him. Raising an eyebrow at him I took my seat cautiously. This guy somehow knew my name, and seeing how I didn't know his name yet I wasn't really liking the situation. I carefully watched and assessed this stranger before me. His face stayed calm as I openly scrutinized him, he didn't fidget he didn't look anywhere else, in fact it looked like he was doing the exact same thing to me except a lot more subtly.

"Ok so he's pretty smart", I thought quietly as I continued my assessment.

He didn't flinch away when I sat down so that means he wasn't afraid, and didn't want to judge my character by just my outfit. Dumb, but still I had to appreciate that. He seemed to be the type of person that held back an opinion until he was absolutely sure. His shoulders were relaxed (which was a surprise because nobody was relaxed around me at first meetings). In fact his overall posture was relaxed so he must be laid back-down to earth, but not poor. His clothes looked expensive, but not flashy expensive so I knew he wasn't just some poser. There was a slight crease in his brow that suggested he had a lot to think about. And his hands were calmly folded on the table, not fidgety, so he probably wasn't looking for a fight. Good he wasn't a threat.

I finally looked up to meet his eyes and he kept contact. "So he's got balls", I thought to myself as a slow smirk appeared on my face.

"So you know my name but what's yours" I asked him leaning back in my chair showing him I wasn't threatened by him. You never want someone to think that you're threatened by them, it made you look vunerable.

"I'm Professor Waters, and I have some news for you" he started, but I cut him off. I heard this speech a thousand times before.

"Don't tell me, you want to be my new therapist so you could cure me of my bad and evil ways" I seen guys like him come by the dozens. Someone always wanted to get inside my head. See why I was the way I was, how I got to be such a hard ass when every single person in my family was in law enforcement. They thought I was an interesting case, and saw an opportunity to claim they did a good deed for the world by steering a harden criminal on the right path. The lessons and sessions were so annoying that I would end up showing them that I wasn't that bad of a guy, just to shut them up. I hated showing people that side but the long talks of "how did that make you feel?" nearly killed me. It's not like it actually changed anything, I still did what I wanted and broke the law, eventually getting sent back to juvie. It never changed.

"Actually I'm a dean at Stonewall Academy", he started again hiding a small smile, "I'm here because I would like you to attend our school, so we're giving you a full time scholarship". He paused for a second so I could catch my breath.

"What!...alright I'll bite...but what's the catch. There's gotta be a catch here" I stared him down waiting for him to break. Money bags like him didnt waste thousands of dollars on a kid like me unless they wanted something. Like i said guys like him came too many times for me to think otherwise. First they said they just wanted to help so they would offer a job or a scholarship and then months later they were getting money and prizes. Yeah of course they were only concerned about me.

"No catches, and I'm not in it for the money. We just think you'll be a perfect addition to our school", his face was still smooth and calm. Either this guy was telling the truth or he was a really good liar. .

"Don't look so sure Professor I didn't say anything yet"I looked over to Jimmy who was waiting for my answer- "You knew about this?" He of all people wouldn't lie just to get rid of me.

"Yeah and you should take the offer", he stated laying back into his chair. His hands were folded across his pot belly and kept giving me that- Don't do anything stupid-look.

I looked back over at this dean guy. Jim's statement had piqued my interest; He would never say something he didn't mean. And if he thought it was a bad idea he would've never gotten me from my cell to begin with.

"What kind of school is it?" I asked him, I needed every little bit of information that I could get. I wasn't gonna get punked into going to some kind of reform school for boys.

"It's a school that will help you…" he paused for a moment before turning back to Jimmy and asking, "could you give us a second?"

Jimmy at first looked a little hesitant but recognition lightened his face and he obliged, giving me a quick pat on the back and walking to the doors, "I'll be back in 5", was all he said over his shoulder as he headed back down the hallway, leaving us alone in the empty visiting room.

I stared back at the man across from me, not concerned in the least that Jimmy left me. For some reason I wasn't worried for my safety, I somehow knew he wouldn't do anything to me.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked me as if it was common to break off one sentence and randomly start up another one.

"What?" He's question took me off guard but I still answered him. Or at least I tried to answer him before he calmly said, "red". And it wasn't a question either it was a statement that said he had no doubt in his mind.

Stunned by curiosity I remained silent… "How did he know that?" was the only question hanging in my mind.

"You're not the only one with a gift Duncan", he replied.

"What? How do you know about that?" This was definitely getting weird. How did he know about the-

"The accident?" he answered my thoughts.

"Yeah…what's going on here?" I slowly started to back away from the table. This guy was starting to look like the stalking, murdering type.

"Ha! I'm not going to stalk or kill you Duncan, it's my gift. I told you that you were not alone Duncan. We've been keeping an eye on you for a while lad and let me tell you, you're not the only person out there that can handle fire."

I just sat there not sure how to respond, or if I should. This couldn't be real, he was lying. Yeah that's it he was lying. He probably got this information from Jimmy; he's the only one who knows after all. Yeah Jimmy was the one who told him.

"Jimmy didn't say a word to me, he kept his promise to you", he said trying to prove his point.

"OK my face is just easily readable…" I thought to myself.

"If you could really read my mind then you should know that I dont buy this bullshit. I mean come this is the stuff that happens in movies",I thought to myself still not able to grip the reality of the situation in full.

"Well then this would be one hell of a movie then", he smiled at me with sincerity. The feeling of victory was eminent on his face already.

Ok so he was telling the truth. "Alright… I'll believe you, but still why should I go to some school just because Jimmy or you think I should?"

"It'll help you tone and refine your skills so you won't lose control again and you won't have to hide your talents because all the other students are like you" he started but seeing the look on my face he quickly added, "and your parole and records will be put in our hands. And since we don't really know you that well...as far as I'm concerned they mean nothing."

"Say no more, because I don't care. As long as I don't have to be here I'm game, this place is starting to bore me" I laughed to myself as Jimmy came back into the room to take me to my cell. Once there I combed through my new school's glossy pamphlet that the Waters guy left for me.

I was supposed to be leaving Friday-three days from now. So I still had some time left to wreak as much havoc as I could. I went through that entire day with an evil smirk plastered on my face. Which scared a lot of the inmates, they knew that when I had that look that I had trouble spelled out for them.

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Courtney's POV

I turned the mail over in my hands. There were a couple of bills and a few spam letters declaring that we only had a month to respond before the opportunity to get a new multipurpose brush that combs, trims, and straightens runs out.

"Oh yeah wouldn't want to miss out on that one", I mumbled to myself before throwing it out along with the other junk mails. I set my mom's bills on the white marble table. The only mail left were two letters addressed to me. I went to the kitchen to get a glass of milk before I sat down to read it. The first letter looked to be normal, so taking another sip of milk I started to scan the letter. It read:

Dear Ms. Anderson,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Stonewall Academy. We have kept an eye on you for quite some time now, and believe you are more than qualified. As I am sure you must already know, our reputation of being one of the worlds best school's does precede us. We take a great pride in our superior criteria, that offers only the most challenging and demanding courses available.

Along with our excellent and numerous courses that we proudly offer, our school is also considered one of the country's top art and sport school. We demand only the best out of our students and know that we can count on you in that field.

We here at Stonewall guarantee a promising career to each and every one of our elite and gifted students. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and hope that you consider taking another step to success.

Yours truly,

Darren Waters

(Head master)

Attached to the letter was a small pamphlet. The cover image was of a bunch of students laughing and joking with each other, looking genuinely happy to be there. Looming behind them was a large castle like building that held a sense of class and elegance. Like a king's castle. I continued to look through the rest of the pages stopping at the courses section. I had to admit I was impressed with the selection, this place seemed to offer every course and major that I was considering for my future. And since it was one of those early schools that started accepting students when they were in their junior year I would be able to get a head start in life and still be able to attend a different school after! This was obviously a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was chosen to be one of the lucky few. Of course I don't really blame them I am the top of my class, and a sure in for the spot of valedictorian of my class. I deserved this! Swelling with pride at my newest accomplishment I laid the note on the table for my mom to see when she got in.

After I rearranged the letter just right on the table I picked up the second one and filled with expectation broke the seal of the vanilla envelope. A whiff of a strange cologne burst out the pocket as I retrieved the note. There was no return address on the letter or envelope so I was puzzled as to who it might be from. My questions were solved though when I began reading it.

Ms. Anderson,

I assume that you have already received my previous letter seeing as you are now reading my follow up. But I felt the need to explain both the letter and your acceptance that I'm sure you think have just come out of nowhere. I want to reassure you that everything that you have already read is entirely true. We are very impressed with your scholarly accomplishment and we do believe that you will make a fine student at Stonewall. Our reputation does precede us, and we are known to be one of the world's most prestigious and exclusive schools that this earth has to offer for several reason.

You see only those who possess certain gifts and talents come to Stonewall. It is for this reason that we ask you to accept our invitation. Ms. Anderson you are not alone. There are other people in the world such as yourself that hold incredible gifts, some being that of the elemental nature, such as the one you have obtained. But you need not feel alone because we offer each of our students a place of refuge at Stonewall. A place that our students can seek help in controlling and refining their skills. While also gaining a high degree in whatever field you wish to involve yourself with. After all our teachers are the brightest on this planet…and others.

Along with this letter we have included a first class ticket for the 7 pm flight on Friday the 19. We look forward to seeing, and wish you a fond trip.

(We have also included a list of things you should think to bring with you)

Sincerely Yours,

Darren Waters

I stared in disbelief at the letter that I held in my hands. How did he know? I never told anybody besides Paulina what happened that day.

_Flash back_

_I was sitting on my porch steps during the summer just watching the sunset. It was that kind of day that silence was welcome, where you just sat there because you wanted to watch the beauty of the sunset. So there I was doing just that, I had just come back from my volunteer reading job at the kindergarten school, so needless to say I was in a good mood. Something about being around those children took away my edge, they smoothed my rough edges. _

_I was softly humming a song into the quiet and empty street in front of me before I was interrupted by a low sputtering engine. It took me a while to figure out who this mysterious stranger was that decided to park in my driveway. At first I thought that maybe it was one of my mother's clients but they didn't look nearly as…scruffy as he did. I knew I should have been weary but there was something about this person that kept me calm. Something about him was familiar to me though I couldn't really be sure. _

"_Hey pumpkin", the use of my childhood nickname brought back scores of memories (not all of them pleasant)._

"_That couldn't be…" I thought to myself not sure of anything yet, so I questioned my theory. "Dad?" I asked the stranger that was steadily approaching._

"_Oh my God…is here to stay this time. Is he trying to get back on the right track and finally become a father?"Multiple questions were whizzing through my head as I watched him walk over. _

"_You look beautiful pumpkin…is your mom home?" he got straight to the point after giving me a quick hug. The over powering scent of alcohol and cigarettes bathed me and I couldn't help but release a small sigh. It was going to take at least three cleans to get the smell out permanently. _

"_No, um why?" saying that I was confused was an understatement. It had been at least 7 years since I had last seen him. After he left us to marry his skanky secretary he all but disappeared form our lives. He stopped visiting me and Paulina, stopped sending us gifts and stopped all child support payments. He occasionally stopped by, but it was only right after the divorce and the visits lasted a total of five minutes. I counted. He didn't even send a card to us on our birthday. It was like he was never there. And now he was standing in front of me asking for my mom. This man hadn't seen me for several years and all he could ask was if my mom was around. _

_You could say that I was getting a little mad._

"_Uh well, I just needed to talk about some grown-up things with her", his speech was slightly slurred and I could tell he was border lining drunk. But there was something interesting that I picked up while he was speaking. _

_He was talking about having a conversation with her as if it wasn't going to be awkward. As if they had talked before, and this was just a follow up. The gears in my mind started to move at a lightening speed now. __And if this was a follow up, then that means he could've stayed awhile to talk with me, to let me know he was at least alive. I looked him over in disgust. His head was hanging down and it seemed that he didn't want to make eye contact with me. _

"_Good he should be ashamed, if only he knew all the nights I cried over his sorry behind. How many times I had taken him for dead, or how many times I blamed myself for his and mom's divorce. Ugh!"The voice in my head screamed out in rage. _

_I looked back at him not caring if my anger showed. His light brown hair was slightly shaggy and disheveled. And not in the, I-planned-for-my-hair-to-be-this-way, style. He wore a dirty looking trench coat over a pair of slacks and a white button down shirt that was covered in stains and hanging out of his pants. There was a piece of paper showing from his right pocket and I could see the words "eviction notice" in the right hand corner. _

"_He's trying to get money from mom? Are you serious?" I thought to myself. "He probably doesn't even want to talk to me right now. What kind of father is he?"_

_I could feel my cheeks get warmer as I mentally went over my boiling point. Here I thought he had somewhat changed. I thought he was trying to make everything right or at least try to be a real dad. But he was still a greedy opportunist who would do anything that he wanted to get anything he wanted. _

_So I vented. I screamed out everything that had built up over the years. Everything I wanted to tell him before and everything I thought he deserved. And when I had finished venting, I stared at him expectantly. This was about the time when he was supposed to break down and cry, fall on his knees and beg for forgiveness, say that he was coming home for good and was always going to be there for me. But he didn't, instead he just got into his car wordlessly and drove away. _

_I stood there in disbelief. He left me, again. I could feel my face flush with anger and my body tremble. Why couldn't he just face the facts!? Why couldn't he admit that he was wrong!?_

_I stared angrily out into the silence of my neighborhood no longer seeing it as peaceful but annoying. I tried to clench my fist harder but I couldn't move my fingers deeper into my skin. I looked down and to my surprise my hands were covered in a thick sheet of ice. And it was steadily stretching up my arm. _

"_Ahhh!" I shrieked trying to stop the ice from growing with my other hand. But it was pointless the ice just coated itself over and over again on my forearm until all that was there was a block of crooked ice. I could barely see the outer lines of my arm under it all. _

"_Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! What did I just do?" I whispered violently running back up the steps of my house and into the bathroom. I spared no time at all and hooked up my blow dryer to the socket, barely waiting for it to heat up. As the ice started to melt my nerves settled down and logic somewhat reclaimed me enough that I could think again. _

"_What's happening to me…more importantly what if somebody saw that?" a voice in my head screamed, as I searched the houses nearby for any people with their windows open or joggers running by in astonishment. _

"_I have to be dreaming", I muttered to myself as I ran inside and grabbed a bag of ice salt to put on the sidewalk. There was the tiniest patch of ice just laying in front of our house as if it belonged there, and seeing as it was the middle of summer it would be a little noticeable. When I was certain there was enough salt on the ground (I made a small pile of it on the ice sheet just to make sure), I headed back inside to calm myself down. _

_I sat in my clean and crisp living room. Looking at all the expensive vases and pictures that my mom said added culture to the house. My mind was for once in my life blank not sure how to process things. _

"_Wait a minute you are Courtney Alvaro! You've won more awards then anybody in your school's history; you are the class president two years running and a sure win for valedictorian! You are not going to let this get the best of you! You're going to find out what's going on here and take control of this situation!" I scolded myself. There was no way I was going to be put down because of a little mishap with my body. This was probably just some crazy teenage hormonal thing. _

_Satisfied with my conclusion I headed upstairs for a much needed nap. I looked down at my still blue tinted hands before drifting off to sleep. _

It was a year ago when that had happened. That night it took nearly an hour for my skin to return to it's natural state, but I didn't complain I liked a challenge. Since then i had gained some control over my "gift" but it was nothing special. A few long minutes of looking at my hands and they would begin to frost. I looked down at the letter once more skimming through it over and over again. The school sounded promising, and it did have all the classes that I wanted to partake in during college. My other school choices couldn't offer the same. And it sounded extremely exclusive.

"Mom will definitely approve of that", I thought to myself chewing my bottom lip.

"On top of all that, I'll be able to figure out what's going on with me", I thought out loud. This year had been a hectic one. Whenever I got mad or frustrated my hands would start to ice over, which led to a lot of awkward moments of hiding them last minute in a punch bowl, or quickly sitting on them-which left water stains on my pants.

With that final thought I made up my mind, I was leaving for this school in five days. My senior year didn't start until a week from now so there was no problem with me leaving before hand anyway. Sure I was going to miss my friends but this opportunity was too big to pass up, and I would be a straight fool if I let it slip through my fingers.


	2. chapter 2

Courtney's POV

I was late! I hated being late it was unprofessional and just plain rude. I stared at the digital clock on the dash board once again. 6:30 flashed across the screen in a red light. That was half an hour later then I planned. The plane was scheduled to leave at 7, and sure it was a private plane or jet thing but still it was the principle of it. Yes I knew they would wait for me but I detested the idea that I was the one that slowed the trip down.

"Excuse me do you think that you could maybe speed up the pace a little?" I asked in a sweet voice, I was getting annoyed with his slow speed but I still tried to retain my respect for elders.

"It's a key point to always remember giving respect to your elders, it will get you far", I quoted my mother's words in my head. The smile on my face broadened.

10 minutes later I finally got out of the broken down taxicab and into the airport. The small ticket I had in my hand was a weird silver color. It reminded me so much of a cheap wad of tin foil. When the ticket person saw mine he immediately called over two taller guys to escort me elsewhere. At first I thought that maybe I was getting kicked out and the ticket that he had mailed me was false but instead of kicking me out they took me to some set off part of the airport. There was a row of metal detectors all empty yet ready to go, and I was passed through in no time. My carry on was checked and my luggage was taken away so I was on the plane (or jet, whatever you want to call it) at five minutes to seven. Which wasn't bad but i could've done so much better.

The plane was amazing! You could tell it was made for only the best of the best. The windows were draped with red curtains that complimented the cream colored walls and tan leather seats. Above on the archway was a large flat screen TV that was playing the movie "Last Holiday" on it. "Why do all the planes play that movie?" I thought to myself.

Smiling I began to observe my fellow passengers. I was the kind of person that could pick up small details in a short glance and a mile away. So as I was walking calmly down the aisle I only had to look out of the corner of my eye to get a good picture of who I was dealing with.

In the first row on my left was a pair of what I could only describe as wanna be twins. The girl sitting on the outside was very skinny and was a deep tan color. The girl next to her had to be ironically her polar opposite. She was pale white and a little on the plus side. What made them an ironic duo was the fact that they both wore the same outfit of pink short shorts and a black and white striped belly shirt (which to be honest was not at all flattering on the bigger girl). Their hair was tied up in to high pony tails with pink barrettes and they both wore the same happily lost expression.

Across from them were two males. They both looked considerably short but I couldn't really tell while they were sitting down. One had his nose dug deeply into some book that he was reading, his black hair swung down slightly with him. I couldn't really see his face that well but I did manage to spot his furrowed brow. He looked like the kind of boy who thought he was better then every other person aorunf him and that he was almost suprerior. Which he made clear by flat out ignoring the boy next to him who was talking about his endless supply of "Skill". The guy sitting next to him reminded me so much of Napoleon Dynamite. He looked like they could possibly brothers in fact. His hair was a tangled up mesh of carrot red and he wore glasses that practically took up his entire face. His skin was pasty and filled with freckles and he said gosh every four seconds. "Yep, defiantly a wanna be dynamite", I muttered in near silence so I didn't offend him. I didn't want to make any enemies here.

Sitting behind them I saw something that made me instantly sympathetic. On the inside of the row was a buff looking girl who was listening to music. Her uni-brow was pushed together in an angry stance with her lips matching suit-pulled back in a snarl. And who was she snarling at? That would be the awkward looking boy next to her. His entire body was shivering with fright even though I could tell he was still trying to cover it up with a bad imitation of a tough guy. His clothes I could tell were hand-me-downs because of the used look they projected as well as the visible patch up work all over his jeans. On his head was an over sized snow hat complete with the fuzzy ball on top giving his face a squished affect.

Across from the poor kid was another pair of boys far different from the first. And it wasn't really because of the one sitting on the outside of the row. No, he looked like your average geek: scrawny, preppy clothes, and gaped tooth. Next to him though was what I could only describe as the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen in my whole life. And I'm not talking school boy cute, or football jock cute, no I'm talking about super model hot! You could see clearly through his olive green shirt his perfectly toned body. His hair was a fountain of dark black that cradled his tan chiseled face. And his baby blue eyes stood out like Christmas lights on a winter night.

Wow! I couldn't help but gawk for a minute or two at the boy before. I came to my senses quick though, I was never one to really go head over heels for cute boys. I had more self control then that. So collecting myself-and my drool I continued down the aisle.

In the seat behind them, were what looked like two daddy's girls. Their clothes were expensive designer labels and very small. The girl sitting in the row seat looked like a blonde ditz. She had long golden locks kept up with a blue bandana which matched her sky blue eyes that held a lost expression. She had the type of body that most girls…and women would kill to have. The girl next to her had a similar body (that I was positive she knew about because she chose to wear an outfit of short shorts and a belly shirt), and long black hair that flowed down her back. Her expression was the exact opposite of her friend's innocent one. It was almost a snarl in fact, like she detested everything around her. I could automatically tell I wasn't going to like her. Everything about her just screamed snobby rich girl.

Sitting across from the ditz was a stout girl with a pair of black round glasses hanging loosely on her button nose. She wore her chestnut brown hair in a sloppy ponytail that was threatening to loosen. She wore a Girl Scout outfit that fit in perfectly with her freckled face and pink braces. I had to feel a little bad for her though because she looked like she was barely fitting in her seat but not because she was fat or anything it was because of the boy sitting next to her. He was the kind of boy that I could tell was happy all the time. The oblivious kind that found every waking second of the day fun. He had shaggy blonde hair and a twinkle in his eye that made me lightly giggle when I passed their row.

In the next row was a girl dressed in blue and black. I could tell from both her dark clothes and gloomy face that she was Goth and just looking at her depressed and indifferent expression brought my own mood down. She was looking out of the window trying to block out the noise on the plane and ignore the boy sitting next to her, who was sneaking quick peeks at her. His green eyes were calm and his face was framed with a mop of black hair. His peachy skin was slightly flushed from embarrassment after making eye contact with the girl.

"Aww", I thought to myself. Watching them was sort of cute.

The guitar case laying in between his legs was in the face of two girls behind him. They didn't seem bothered by it though because they didn't look cross at all. The girl sitting next to the window was a big boned black girl. I couldn't really call her fat in fact she was far from it, but she did look built. She had two earphones in her ears and her almond shaped eyes were laced with worry because of the other girl in that row. The girl she was looking at reminded me so much of those insane lunatics you see in movies that get strapped up in those crazy jackets. She had this menacing smile on her lips and she was laughing evilly for some unknown reason. Her frizzy red curls bounced wildly everywhere. Not really wanting to make eye contact with her I looked on to who was behind them.

The next couple of people were a boy and girl who looked like they might just be related. The girl who was sitting on the inside of the row had dyed burgundy red hair that was starting to fade showing dark brown roots. Her wavy hair came passed her shoulders and contrasted with her light brown eyes. Her light tan skin was similar to the boy's next to her, as well as her eyes. His dark curly hair was moosed back giving him a sort of suave look. Both of them were moving their hands in fast gestures (I believe it was sign language) absorbed in whatever conversation they were having.

Across from them I heard a male voice (a lot faster than normal) talk animatedly to his seat partner. His bright blonde hair and green eyes justled every other second as if what he was saying was more important then what he was talking about a second ago. The girl sitting next to him (who reminded me of the two daddy's girls in the front) was giving him a weird look of annoyance and worry. She even tried proving she wasn't listening by moving her pin straight brown hair over her shoulder, creating a wall between them.

Behind them were two very quiet figures. One was a tomboy looking girl, that wore a red t-shirt with the words "skate and sleep" and a pair of loose tattered cargo capris. Under her skater shoes laid a black and orange skateboard. Next to her was a tall looking boy that was staring intently at the chair in front of him. His jet black hair hung in front of his face and covered half of it. He had angular features and dark purple eyes that at first looked black, but after a few seconds of staring you would be able to realize their true color.

In the second to last row was a girl with a wide warm smile, and it wasn't fake either because it seemed to flow all the way up to her dark brown eyes. She was overall very small and her light brown hair (that was extremely shiny) seemed to take up half her body. In her hair was a large white and pink lily that made her look like she was shooting a commercial for a jungle movie. Next to her with just as big of a smile as the girl was a boy who was of average size. He had a dark brown complexion, like coffee with only a little bit of milk in it. His glasses were not nerdy and large like the others but the frame was small and square, like designer frames. They were both talking to the boys sitting behind them.

Sitting on the inside was a jock looking guy that had an average amount of muscles. He wore a red jump suit and a comforting smile. His long brown hair was kept in order by a red and white headband. He was talking excitedly to the others about some kind of sport that he had done in the past summer. It couldn't have been that important, after all it was just a sport. The boy he was standing next to (they were both standing up to talk to the people in front of them) at first glance made me think that he was just some dumb muscle head that always tried to show off his body "to the ladies". But at second glance he looked very sweet, his eyes were gentle and his smile soothing. He was very tall and most of his brown/black hair was covered by the white beanie he wore.

Across from them was a boy that wore a light tan looking cowboy hat. He looked like the Bahamian kind of boy, laid back and ready to have fun. He wore an unbuttoned pink shirt, jean shorts and brown sandals. His posture was lazy and calm and he was talking excitedly to the boy next to him.

The boy next to him from the moment I saw him I knew that I wouldn't ever get along with him. He wore a black t-shirt with a cream colored skull on it. Under the black shirt he wore an off white long sleeve along with a pair of light denim shorts and red converses. On his neck was a revolting dog collar with silver spike studs popping out of it. His build was slightly above average and you could see the shape of his muscles under his clothes. His face was filled with piercings, and he sported a small goatee. His hair like his piercings stood out. It was partly buzzed on the sides and the very top of his head had a green spiked Mohawk. But the most striking thing had to be his icy blue eyes. He must have felt my eyes on him because his head bopped up in a second.

I don't know anyway that I could really explain it, but when our eyes met I couldn't look away. It was like a pull that kept me locked in my place unable to move. His expression was just as lost as mine. He didn't say anything and he didn't move either. It was like the world had stopped moving and only we were aware. And then the moment was over. He was first to break it by quickly shaking his head and giving me a wink. His mouth that was agape in shock twisted into a sarcastic grin.

"Mph!" I snapped out of it and looked away in disgust. I knew I wouldn't like him. He didn't even know me and he was already making passes at me. What a pig!

In front of that seat was a petite looking girl with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She was wearing a teal jacket and looking contently out of the window.

"Um can I sit here?" I asked in a sort of shy voice. I didn't want to make a bad impression at first introduction.

"Of course", she replied quickly with a warm smile. "I'm Bridgette by the way"

"Courtney, nice to meet you", I said to her as I extended my hand for her.

The plane ride took only a total of two hours at most to get to the school. The whole time I spent it talking to Bridgette. We didn't have much in common but somehow we still managed to talk about something. I could tell that we were going to be good friends later on.

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Duncan's POV

I looked around as i normally did whenever I entered a new place. We had finally arrived on the school grounds and were slowly gathering our bags. The jet's resting area (i wasn't sure what they called it, and i dont really care) was huge in size. The cement room looked as if it could easily hold three more jets the same size. I think what made it so large was the fact that it was basically empty. It held nothin but the jet, and us, the rest of the room was undisturbed by junk. Across from us nearly 200 ft. or so away was a metal double door fit for a castle, and it seemed to be the only way out besides the roof. The roof was made up of two even larger metal doors that slide open once the jet came close to the grounds. and it stayed open too, letting the moon leak in with it's surreal glow to blanket us. The night air which happily glided through the open roof as well was cool against my cheeks. It was the kind of cold that wasn't brisk or uncomfortable but welcome. I let the light breeze cover me as I stretched my body out. I knew it was only an hour or two at most, but it felt like forever since I was standing on both feet. And I wasn't the only one who thought that because I could see nearly everyone else trying to loosen the knots the plane ride had given them.

"Welcome to Stonewall", a familiar voice called across the large cement room. I looked up to see a head of snow white hair not too far away.

"Waters", I confirmed in my head I would be able to spot him a mile away with that hair.

With a small smile he walked over to us using an antique looking cane. It was crafted of wood and had intricate detailed trees carved into it. Every leaf and branch was perfectly made as if it were the real thing. The tree looked almost…alive. "I am Headmaster Waters, or Professor Waters if you prefer…" he trailed off saying something else but I wasn't as interested anymore. I was more interested by the ebony cane in his hand that seemed to thumping with life.

"Wait a second when did he start using a cane?" I asked myself. I didn't remember it from when I had last seen him at the center. In fact he was walking better than most people I've seen his age.

"Maybe he got in an accident or something", I mumbled lowly. I knew from experience that a lot could happen in just a few short days so who was I to question it.

"No accidents, one of my students made it for me, so I like to show it off every now and then. Plus I think it makes me look good." Waters chuckled out....Oh yeah Forgot that he could do that. I was going have to be more careful from now on so he couldn't read **every** thought of mine.

"Of course", I sarcastically agreed while rolling my eyes for a more dramatic effect. He didn't seem to mind it though because he just kept laughing before starting his tour.

"Follow me if you will", he called over his shoulder in his soft british accent before heading down a wide hallway and outside.

I let the others go ahead of me as I drifted to the back. I didn't mind being in the front but I would be able to scope out everyone else better from here. It was a habit of mine to check out everyone I was dealing with and since I couldn't get that great of a picture on the plane I had to do it now. I checked out each of their postures and their expressions. I only knew a few of their names from conversations on the plane and from over hearing conversations as we walked across the schools lawn. So far I knew DJ's, Geoff's, Tavon's, Rose's and Tyler's name but I still had time. From what I could see I could already make out their personalities for the most part. There were obvious snobs, then there were the geeks and the outcasts, and then there were the laid back and partying people.

"Hey dude!" Geoff's voice rang in my ear knocking me out of my observations.

"Huh- oh what's up?" I asked slightly irritated by the disturbance. I nearly had everyone pegged.

"Nothin' man you just looked out of it, you ok?" he asked me slightly intrigued.

"Yeah it's all good", I said to stop his suspicion. There was no point in trying to explain my habit to him most people didn't get it.

When we caught up with rest of the group I saw Waters unlocking a great wooden door. It was literally twice the size needed.

"This, will be your new residency", he started as he welcomed us inside.

The room he led us to was so different than it's outside. It was more modern while the exterior was like something out of an old medieval flick of dragons and knights.

In the middle of the room was a huge brown sofa that looked like it could fit up to ten people in it. The front of the sofa was facing a 52 inch flat screen that hung securely on the wall. There were also some landscape pictures placed on the wall here and there that matched the tan carpets. The room wasn't that big and extravagant but for a college it was pretty sweet. The flat screen especially.

"This will be your new common room, it's pretty basic but you can add whatever you like later on", he started letting us take it all in before continuing. "To your right you'll see your new coat closet. The laundry room is right down the hall. You'll be sharing with the other houses but there are plenty of washers and dryers for you to use. That being said I'm sure none of you will have an issue with this".

"Right, just down here you'll see the bathrooms." He led us out of the room (that surprisingly fit us all) and stopped us in front of a wooden door with the figure of a lady carved into it. "On the right side is the girl's bathroom, on the left the boy's. You'll see that inside there are four showers and toilets. Which means yes you will have to share…but I'm sure we won't have that problem with any of you good folks", he flashed them all a smile before walking to the other side of the wall. I had to admit this guy knew how to play his cards well.

Reading my thoughts again he gave me a quick smile before showing us the boy's bathroom that was just on the other side.

"Now to your quarters", he headed up the winding staircase with ease. The hallway upstairs was divided into two sections by a thin wall. There was at most two feet of free space between the beginning of the wall and the stair case.

"I'll start with the boys since were already on their side". I perked up my head in anticipation. I still didn't know everyone's name and now was the perfect opportunity to learn. "Ok in room 1 we have Owen and Frankie (the chubby kid and the jittery kid both nodded their heads smiling to themselves), room 2- Noah and Justin (I was guessing the book worm had to be Noah because the pretty boy looked annoyingly at his roommate after being called-and vice versa), room 3- Trent and Daniel (I had talked to Trent a little before the plane ride began so I knew the curly haired kid had to be Daniel), room 4- Harold and Ezekiel (two nerdy kids looked at each other after being called and introduced themselves. The red head geek was Harold and the hand-me-down kid was Ezekiel), room 5- DJ and Geoff (yeah already know them), room 6- Tyler and Cody (since I already knew Tyler I figured the scrawny wannabe across from him was Cody), room 7- Tavon and Dariun (I knew Tavon so the reserved kid who raised his head must be Dariun), and finally the last room goes to Duncan", he paused for a second before looking at me.

"Mph, of course he wouldn't trust me enough to give me a roommate. Not like I blame him though after what I did to the last guy that bunked with me…I hate snorers", I thought to myself.

"It was brought to my attention that this was best but if you really want I could fix it up so you share a room with, lets see Owen and Frankie", he said half-heartedly. He knew I liked it better this way. Besides I would probably end up straggling both of them before the week was out. I looked over to the boys he was talking about. The big chubby guy was busy stuffing his face with some kind of candy bar-that I have no idea where he got it, and the other was too gidddy and wouldn't stop jumping.

"You know tempting offer (I looked back at fat boy)-really it is, but I'll pass", I said trying to keep in the smile. I was beginning to like this guy-

"Don't let that get to your head", my thoughts snapped at him. I forgot for a second that he could do that…again. He just gave me a reassuring smile before starting the girls list. Like I did the first time with the boy's list I watched as he called off the names so I could match it with the faces.

"Eva room 1 will be yours (the muscle girl nodded her head fiercely), Katie and Sadie you will have room 2 (the clones shook with glee), Beth and Joanna room 3(the shorter girl Beth perked up when her name was called and looked excitedly to her roomy-who didn't look as happy) , Heather and Lindsey room 4 (two really hot girls in tight clothes acknowledged themselves. The blonde one-I think Lindsey-nodded her head with dumb joy).

"Not that much going on up there…oh well she's still hot", I shrugged off her stupidity in hopes of getting some action from her in the future. You never knew.

"Leshawna and Gwen (the Goth girl and her friend next to her smiled at each other) room 5, Rose and Shanice room 6 (I knew Rose so Shanice was the quiet girl behind her who barely acknowledged her presence), Izzy and Nicole room 7 (the bright red head and skater girl nodded to Waters) and room 8 will be Courtney's and Bridgette's (the blonde girl with the teal jacket and that tan girl from the plane smiled at each other in mutual joy) ", he stated before saying something else that I didn't really quite catch because I was to busy looking over the crowd rechecking their names so that I got it right. The only people I had an issue with were Sadie and Katie. I knew their names I just wasn't able to pick them apart.

"Oh well I doubt I'll have to use their names separately anyway", I reassured myself. I looked over the crowd again and stopped at the mocha haired girl.

"Courtney…that's what her name is," I thought to myself as I scanned her body over again. I didn't notice what she was wearing before but I did now. It was a grey polo shirt that was rolled up at the elbows and that covered her entire chest and neck. It covered everything but it was still a little tight and I had no trouble making out the curves of her form. It left me guessing and I kind of liked that. Her olive Capri pants clung to her legs as well only loosening when it came near the knees. She had long legs and it was shown even more with the pair or strap up heels she wore. Her back was perfectly straight and her arms were folded across her chest. Her face was nothing but concentrated, as she listened intently on what Waters said. She never broke that concentration either, it was like the world was hanging on what this man said or she was expecting there to be a surprise quiz at the end of the tour. Eager to learn, back straight, wearing a polo, this girl was definitely a prep.

"Another prep, great just what I need. Hot body or not I hate preps" I thought to myself. They always played by the rules and never did anything on the daring side lest they ruin their good name. They were such kill joys and if they weren't ruining your fun they would be the one to rat you out when you did something "wrong". But worst of all when you got in their face about it they drop their façade of I'm better then you because I have more money and shrink back. Pushovers. I rolled my eyes and brought my attention back to Waters.

"- but I'm sure you'll manage. Tomorrow I'll get more into all the rules and stuff like that so I'll leave you to get settled in. Your house supervisor should be coming to pick you all up around 9, so sleep well and good bye for now". With his speech finished he headed back down the stairs (where we followed him) and out the door.

The room was quiet for a small moment, just because none of us really knew what to do yet.

"Well I'm going to bed', the Goth girl Gwen said before grabbing one of her suitcases and heading for the stairs. Her statement seemed to bring everybody else back to life and we all started for our new rooms.


	3. chapter 3

Courtney's POV

The Goth girl seemed to break all the thick tension building up in the room after the head master left. The moment she began dragging her suitcase up the stairs the room became a buzz of commotion and mindless conversation composed of "Hi my name's so-and-so what's yours?" and "Where are you from?" I saw this as a perfect time not only get acquainted with my roommate but from now on my fellow students.

"Hey Bridgette", I walked over to her small circle of friends in hopes of branching out and meeting new faces. When I finally approached the group I skipped any possible awkward scenarios and immediately introduced myself with a smile. Like when I met Bridgette I was determined to make an excellent first impression. It's a crucial part in life, and to be prepared for life you have to know it.

"Hey I'm Rose", the small sprite like girl to the left of me was the first to offer me her ivory colored hand. Her luxurious curly black hair swung at her hips making up for her small figure and her bright flower was still perched in her hair with vibrancy. I'm not exactly sure how the flower was able to keep it's place so perfectly in her dark locks with out wilting but it managed. And as crazy as it sounds it seemed as if the plant had managed to grow in the past hour. On the plane the only thing I could see of the plant were it's buds- the petals slowly peeking out from their protective shell. Now the long white and pink satin petals bravely lashed out with small green vines twisting around strands in her hair behind them. A small throbbing beat hummed from it keeping me occupied.

"It's nice to meet you Courtney", her smile broaded with her welcome and the lily clasped to her imitated her with it's own shining smile.

"That's such a beautiful flower, it's a ceres lily right?" the allure of the blossom forced me to inquire of its nature. My question made Rose give off a elf-like giggle that reminded me of a child getting away with stealing cookies from a jar.

"You know your the first one to actually get the name of the flower right", Rose's face burned with acceptance."Most peope just call it a regular lily- or on occasion a rose-don't know why though since they're totally different".

"Yeah me and my mother used to work in the garden every spring...I still do sometimes", I nodded in agreement. The garden in our backyard was half the size of our house and was filled with everything from Roses to tomatoes (which taste a lot better when home grown). When I was smaller my mom started it in hopes of creating a bonding time with her children. Every weekend she would force us to go outside with her insisting that we spend part of our day doing something useful. I was happy to comply with her, Paulina on the other hand couldn't stand it. The fact that her beautiful Saturday was wasted on something as meaningless as a patch of plants furiated her and eventually let her off the hook. "It's useless and atracts way too many bees" she used to rant endlessly until finally fed up my mom agreed to et her do something instead. When Paulina left we spent most of our time in silence-but it was a comfortable silence. A silence filled with contentment. Occasionally we would laugh and share jokes but mostly we sat in the dirt dwelling in each other's company. But that was a while ago. Our garden was now twice the size it once was but we no longer kept it. Instead we hired gardeners to keep the plants, mow our lawns, and get rid of weeds. My mother still prided it and loved the envious stares it captured but refused to work in it any longer. It was beneath her now, and why do it when you could have people do it for you. Right? To her it only made sense. Sometimes though every once in a blue moon I enjoyed pulling on those firm gloves and rummaging through the soil drifting back to memories of laughs and "dirt fights".

"I wish I could have a garden of my own, but I still work on the vegetation in local neighborhoods everynow and then...So where you from?" Rose switched subjects bashfully realizing her babbaling tendency.

"Well I was born in Ontario but I've lived in Long Island for some time now. I believe it's been approximately 14 years now", I gave her an open smile indicating that I would more than happy to continue the conversation later on. Who knew knowing the different classifications of lilies would come in handy.

"No kidding, I'm from Ontario too", the giant ebony colored man besides Rose replied to the coincidence."Well I was born in Jamaica but I moved there when I was around 10. I love it there-I'm Devon by the way, Devon Jr...but everyone calls me Dj", Dj's eyes crinkled with his gentle smile that pushed me to grin even more. From appearance, Dj stood 6'10 and had bulky muscles on every surface of his body. The classic case of a muscle head filled with thoughts of besting the other guys and checking out the ladies. But once he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was sweetness.

"So if you still live all the way in Ontario why not just go to a school in Canada. I know of plenty of schools that a lot people would dream of getting in there." I asked curiously. Some of my top school choices were in Cananda.

"Well they gave me a full time scholarship to come here and since that was the best deal I know I could've of gotten for…uh…medicine I accepted", he responded bashfully. He became deathly quiet and let the topic slip instead of going any further. The fear of everyone finding out why I needed to come kept me from probing any further. What if someone found out that I needed help controling my "gift". They would probably think I was some kind of freak.

"Full time scholarship? Wow that's amazing", Bridgette nodded happily to the giant next to her not at all noticing the silence that enveloped the rest of us.

"Well the line to the stairs seems to be lessening now so I better get going before the mob forms again"-Dj inserted a new topic in hopes of changing the mood-"Hey Rose you want any help with your bags I got an extra arm to spare". The muscles on his arms seemed to bulge at the thought of heavy lifting.

"Hmm maybe he is a bit of a muscle head" I laughed to myself realzing the ludacris statement I just made.

"Uh yeah that would be great actually, let me go get those then" she answered delighted at the new mood and guided him towards the massive pile of bags near the door.

Almost mechanically Bridgette and I began our own journey finding our luggage, which wasn't that hard considering there were only a few bags scattered on the floor. Bridgette having significantly less possessions than me had little difficulty getting two small bags upstairs before I was able to bring one of my massive ones. I don't know why I chose to stuff my bags full like I did. At the time it seemed like such a good idea. You know the more I could bring the better prepared I would be for whatever happened. Now that I thought of it, the notion of bringing snow shoes and a first aid kit sounded silly to me.

"Hey dudette, can I help you with your stuff you look like you're struggling a bit", the voice of a frat boy hung in the air surrounding me and Bridgette, and the owner, a fairly cute boy with a relaxed grin. I couldn't be sure but it looked like the boy that was sitting behind me and Bridgette on the plane but I couldn't be sure since I resolved to never look behind me after that little mishap with...the other one. And who was he referring to? Well i figured Bridgette since the whole time he was talking his eyes never left her blushing face.

"Um sure…thanks", she gave a small smile for the party boy's politeness and quickly looked back at me to see if I would be alright by my lonesome. I nodded quickly to her and then turned to my own bags to figure out how I was going to do this by myself now. Since Bridgette had only one bag left and a surf board she promised to quickly get her stuff to our room and immediately come back to help me. Now though it looked like I was going to have to handle this by myself or hopefully get my own knight in shinging armor to help me.

"Hey, do you need help too?" the frat boy projected his voice unnecessarily in my ear.

"Um, I think I'll just get someone else to help me, but thank you anyways…" I trailed off hoping he would take the hint and fill in his own name.

"Oh, I'm Geoff", he responded after a long hesitation. This guy's light wasn't shining too bright. It's a good thing he was cute.

"Thanks Geoff, I'm Courtney by the way, and I think I can handle it from here", I started grabbing my bags again in hopes of convincing him. It's not like I didn't appreciate the help but it seemed that in accepting his help I was wronging Bridgette. From the smile playing on her lips I could tell she liked the prospect of a cute stranger offering her a hand. No matter how clueless that stranger was.

"Hey D, Come over here for a sec", Geoff's booming voice sounded behind me yet again. And not a second later that punk kid from the plane came over to see what the commotion was.

"What's up Geoff?" the punk asked with a detached tone.

"Hey Duncan, can you help these dudette with their bags?" Geoff didn't bother waiting for his friend's response instead he picked up Bridgette's bags and began to climb the stairs to our room. My eyes traveled around the room for anyone who could offer me a hand but it seemed that every sensible guy was already whisked away helping some other girl. Why of all people did I have to get stuck with him. Duncan looked off into the distance with uncaring eyes obviously just as annoyed with Geoff's request as I was. Besides I was talented with reading people (and the moment on the plane where he rudely winked at me was just a verification of my skills) and this kid spelled trouble in every sense of the word. So naturally I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Really I can do this by myself, I don't need anyone's help"-I looked annoyingly at the punk beside me. The last thing I needed was some boy thinking that I was some weak little female that couldn't handle herself. I demonstrated my abilities by grabbing one of my bags and dragging it with me to the stairs after Bridgette and Geoff who were already incredibly far ahead of me. But still I put forth my best effort to make it seem like the strain was effortless. Really why did i put so much crap in my bags!

"Right, sweetheart I'm sure you don't need any of my help", Duncan's voice mumbled sarcastically from behind me as he easily picked up both my bags without breaking a sweat. He was obviously just trying to show off.

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you my name, its Courtney- **not **sweetheart", I tried to match his sarcastic tone with maturity but it wasn't the easiest thing to do since his own manners were just dreadful.

"Don't really care,** sweetheart**, I'm just bringing your bags to your room", he rolled his eyes dramatically to emphasize just how much concern he really didn't have. Which was entirely unnecessary by the way.

"You know what, I'm not even going to waste my time with someone like you. Thanks ever so much for helping me with my bags…Duncan", I tried my best to put on a smile and appear the bigger person but my face only made lines of aggravation. I could feel my blood rise and a small cool breeze sweep across my hands.

"Oh well, at least I **tried** to be civil", I thought to myself bitterly.

"Oh you're more than welcome", he countered my civility with his own sarcastic remark dropping my bags crudely to the ground and leaving before he could hear anything from me. And I could have sworn I heard him mutter, "Stuck up, prep", as he walked down the flight of stairs.

"Jerk", I said making sure that there was still a chance he could have heard me. It was childish I know but I wasn't going to let him take a shot at my pride like that, or act like a jerk and receive no reprimands for it.

I looked down at my hands in fear and sure enough there was a solid coat of deep frosty blue trailing up my arms.

"Wow, I most have been more upset then I thought", I mumbled while grabbing a spare blanket from one of my bags that I had packed just in case something like this were to happen. Usually when I got aggravated my tinged skin would spread to maybe my wrist but never my elbow. This was something new….

"I'm going to have to be more careful around that delinquent", I hissed out delinquent with impatience. I sat on my bed in a huff trying-and failing- to calm my nerves. My hands needed time to defrost quick or else Bridgette would see the massive blocks of ice that I'm sure would take form soon if I didnt keep myself in check.

This is gonna be hard.

Return to


	4. Chapter 4

Duncan's POV

6:30, time to wake up. My body jumped with a start as my internal alarm clock woke me up with a jolt.

"Ugh…I hate mornings", I jumped out of my bed before I slipped back into sleep. If I didn't stay awake after I woke up there was no hope in getting me awake again. I dropped straight to the floor with arms spread just right so I could catch myself and immediately pull myself into a sent of push-ups.

"48…49…50", I finished off the easy count and began on my situps. I didn't do a lot of working out in the morning just a few easy reps. It was at random times in the day that I actually got down to it especially when I was mad. When I got up from my sitting position I looked over at the weights I had brought with me, wondering if I really wanted to pick them up.

"Come on Duncan don't get lazy on me", I repeated the words my older brother Jacob would call out to me when we ran track, my breath coming out in labored pants as his were even and controlled. So I reluctantly went over to my small set of weights and again did my reps.

"Where's that damn towel...I knew I shouldn't have left her in my room alone", I mumbled at finding out my mom had rearranged my bag when my back was turned. I was home for only a minute and already she was hovering over my shoulder at every turn. Every time I turned my back or went to the bathroom I found another baby blue polo sitting on the top of the pile. I looked down into neatly folded and organized piles of clothes. I hated when she organized my clothes I could never find anything if it wasn't in a sloppy pile. Just when I was about to give up I spotted a familiar black and white pattern nudged into the corners of the burlap sack. Next to it was a small blue plastic container holding a fresh new bar of Irish Spring waiting for me. Finally. I grabbed both items, a pile of clothes and headed down to the showers.

Not a sound could be heard in the house and that was the best part. Waking up as early as I did guaranteed me more time in the showers since I would be missing the head rush for them.

I quickly got out of my clothes and jumped into the shower. "Ah Crap!" the icy water shot down on me unexpectedly. I knew I should have checked the temp before I got in. Irritated I lifted my now red hand to the shower head and kept it there until it changed into the same scarlet red. Steaming water just above boiling point came pouring back down on me.

"Perfect", I sighed contently letting the hot water melt me. The soothing steam was much needed and I stood motionless for several long moments just taking in the therapeutic heat. I finally got out of the shower and heading back to my room clothes in hand. I don't know why I took them down with me since I never expected to change in the bathroom. I always felt that it was weird changing anywhere but my own room. I ran up to my room hair dripping and towel hanging at my hips. Speedily I dressed into a simple white shirt and baggy shorts leaving enough time to do my hair and piercings. Doing my hair took a good fifteen minutes especially if I wanted it to come out just right. Satisfied with my outcome I looked myself once over again. Looking as good was not as easy a task as I made it to be. Of course I had it easier than most since I had good looks to ride on but it still took work non-the less.

Smiling to myself I fell onto my bed with nothing more to do but wait. The time on my pre-paid only read 7:15 so I figured I had at least a half an hour still to myself. But then again this shitty excuse for a phone could be lying to me again. It wasn't the first time that it either shut down or went through some weird phase. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to keep in contact with ma but more importantly Megan I would have never agreed with Jim to get one. I looked at the time again before dialing in my house number.

"Hello?" a girl's small voice rang from the other line. Perfect that meant I didn't have to deal with anyone else.

I sighed with relief and answered excitedly, "Short stop! How's it goin'?"

"Duncan! It's bout time you called!" I could picture her eye brows slanting in anger as she said this.

"Yeah I know squirt, I didn't get in 'til late last night. At least I called you today", I defended my case.

"Yeah yeah, sure you did", she said laying the sarcasm on thick.

"Aight aight I'm sorry. Hey you staying out of trouble…or at least making sure you ain't getting' caught?"

"Of course!" she responded insulted with my question.

"Hey I'm just making sure my wisdom is being passed on correctly. But anyway Imma have to catch you later kid I think we gotta get to classes now or somethin' like that", I turned my head to the door where a soft knock was heard.

"Hey dude you awake?" Geoff's loud whisper came from the other side of the door accompanying the knock.

"Ok love you" she sighed recatching my attention.

"Yeah…", I called for Geoff to come in before returning to my other conversation with her. "Love you too and I'll call you later. Bye" I clicked the end button and looked expectantly to Geoff who had made himself comfortable already.

"So you got a babe back home?" he nodded his head towards the phone still in my hand with a smile.

Even though there was no way he could have possibly known it was my sister I was talking to I couldn't stop myself from getting' pissed. I don't care who it is if you talked about my sister in anyway you betta be running like hell after.

"She's my sister-Megan", I tried to smooth out my scowl but it wasn't working out as well as it should've.

"Woah dude my bad, I didn't know", Geoff immediately took a step back throwing his hands up in defense.

Nodding I turned my head away calming myself down. I was actually quite impressed at how easily I was able to pull it off. The last time someone said something about my sister things ended badly. Well badly for them. I've had worse.

_Flash back_

_I was sitting in the wreck room idly passing the time with a few court shows with nothing interesting to do. There were only a few other people in the room besides myself filling the room with small laughs and conversations. None of them were talking about anything interesting enough that I wanted to get up and join so instead I stayed put and watched grown men fight over money with their baby's mamas. _

"_Hey Duncan, heard you was a punk ass from one of my boys here". I turned around to see a scrawny looking boy not even a hundred pounds yet with a buzzed head and clothes that looked three times his size. He looked like he couldn't even be twelve and that put me in a good mood. He couldn't have been serious right? Laughing I gave him a quick glance before returning to the tv. _

"_Kid you don't got a chance in Hell, why don't you just turn around and walk away while I'm still in a good mood", I said over my shoulder not even looking away from the screen. _

"_hm so they was right you are just a punk ass", the scrawny kid took another daring step forward refusing to listen to the pleas of his friends. I had to admit this kid was as persistent as they come. I shifted myself from beige couch and walked right up to the kid lifting him easily into the air by his collar. I knew exactly who this guy was. He was a power pusher. Some jack ass who tried to raise his reputation by picking a fight with someone bigger than himself. Over the years that I had been there many others came after me looking for a fight. I was the best fighter of them all and the head honcho so landing a punch on me at least guaranteed you a boost in your rep. Of course none of them had actually succeeded but that didn't mean it wasn't tiring all the same. _

"_You must be stupid", I sneered at his face before throwing him across the metal floor and walking back to my seat. What I hadn't noticed was that a picture of my little sister had somehow slipped out of my pocket and drifted towards the floor. The next thing I heard was a low menacing laugh coming from the ground. _

"_Who's the little slut", the kid snatched my picture up and flipped it around in his hands. I froze in my place and glanced back in irritation. When I had realized what it was in his hands something took over my body. Anger swelled in my chest and covered my eyes with red. Around the room small gasps of shock and horror filled the room. Everyone knew by now that talking about me was a no no but talking about my sister as well meant you were on a suicide mission. Turning my body fully around I stormed over ignoring the kids on the side begging for me to just walk away. Their pleas fell on deaf ears and they knew it was already too late for the kid. Lifting him up into the air just as easily again I wheeled back my fist and released all my pent up fury into his face. The impact from my punch threw him into the nearest wall leaving a small crack in the wood. Silence filled the room as the huddled form of the boy sat motionless. Still pissed I sauntered over and kicked the slumped body over so I could see his face better. _

_"Damn Duncan what did you do?" one of my boys hunched over my shoulder to see the damage I had afflicted and stepped back in fear from the sight. A giant swelling burn spread across the face of the now unconscious boy. Crossing over the left eye was a long gash from where my fist made contact and his head seeped steam. I looked down at my fist to see small simmering flames receding into my skin leaving behind wisps of smoke. _

_I later found out that the kid, Gregory was his name, was sent to some hospital in a coma (and to my knowledge is still there). And as for the whole fist of flames thing I passed it off as a trick I had learned on the street. In the end my credit got boosted even more and people envied me for the new trick I could pull off with my "special lighter". Even some of the gaurds didn't have the balls to approach me for punishment. Whenever I was supposed to go somewhere they sent Jim in to get me. It was a win/win situation for me. _

"How long you been awake dude?" Geoff's voice pulled me out of my flash back with a confused look.

"Since 6:30", I responded carelessly, "Years in juvie will do that to you. Never pictured you being awake around this time though". I easily slipped back into the conversation as if nothing had ever happened totally forgetting my earlier aggravation with him.

"Yeah I know but I've been working the morning shift for my parent's restaurant on the weekends and during vacations for years now", he nodded in agreement as we both headed down stairs to find a few other people awake.

"Bridge, Court. What's up dudettes", Geoff plopped down on the sofa besides the two girls talking. I followed his actions and sat on the arm of the couch. We sat there waiting for our so called House supervisor for over an hour with barely anything to talk about. Well at least I barely had anything to talk about. I mostly just watched the conversation go on putting a word or two in every now and then. Geoff was cool and I guess Bridgette was ok but that Courtney was started to get on my nerves. Everything she said was school this and awards that. Only once did she actually sway from that topic and even then it was nothing interesting. It was driving me crazy though Geoff and Bridgette didn't seem to mind. I guess they figured that after a while she would just run out of steam. Thankfully as time went on more people came down stairs ready to get going and I drifted over to Dj, some music kid named Trent, and the Goth Gwen who were pretty cool.

"Hello students. I'm Chris your new Supervisor. And I'm sure we can all get aquatinted later, but right now we have to go", this so called Chris materialized out of nowhere stepping out a small square of smoke with a fake commercial smile. He was dressed in a blue button down shirt and khaki shorts. In his feather like hair was a pair of dark tinted sunglasses and hidden in his eyes a glint of mischief. The smoke around his feet was barely there now and managed to capture the eyes of nearly everyone around.

"Please, it's probably some lame magic trick he learned from a kit", Gwen moved over to whisper in my ear shrugging. I nodded in agreement just a second more and I probably would have said the same thing.

"Is everybody ready to go?" he looked around at the nodding heads before continuing, "Ok then let's get a move on. I don't got all day".

"Well he's a ray of sunshine", Gwen Mel achromatic voice buzzed behind me as we filed out the doors. Once again I had to agree with her, something about this guy was unsettling.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Courtney's POV

We were all taken to some old fashioned auditorium where we waited in the front for the Headmaster to appear. Chris disappeared behind the black velvet curtain of the stage only to return a few minutes later trailing behind the Headmaster and a smaller girl. Headmaster was dressed in his usual fashion while the girl standing to his right was in a sweeping skirt and baggy white shirt that resembled the outfit of a gypsy. Around her hair was a purple scarf keeping her dark curls in place. Her feet were covered in worn muggy sandals and her arms gold bands. She looked like a child not born of her time, a fictional character out of a fairy tale. In all she couldn't have been more than perhaps 7 years old but something in her charcoal eyes told me differently.

"Hello again", Headmaster looked over the crowd of students with an inviting smile.

"As I have said before in letters and meetings with you I am here to offer my assistance. Many of you probably have a million questions to ask me but first let me tell you a story in the hopes that maybe some of these questions might be answered", he looked over the crowd once again for our approval and attention before beginning his tale.

"The story I'm about to retell is about an event that occurred many years ago...

_Long ago when the world was a different place there was a war going on. It was a war between humans and mysticals-who were powerful beings entirely made up of derived from the five elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. How the war had started was unknown. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding on both sides. Or maybe it was a fight for freedom, gold or land. Both leaders who called for the war had died on the field taking that precious knowledge with them. So the war lasted a hundred years covering the earth with blood. And neither side knew exactly what they were fighting for or who was winning. When one battle was won for the humans, one would be won by the other. Victory never lasted too long in either see although the mysticals as we humans called them (their real name would be impossible to pronounce on our tongues) were pure energy and could call on the five elements as they willed we were much stronger. In those days not only did we have strength but we had incredibly fast reflexes and healed at abnormal rates. And the most important of all our advantages was our life span, that was between 200 maybe 300 years if we were lucky. Because of this we were tied. Finally King Darren leader of the humans and King Scion leader of the mysticals called a truce. Too much blood was spilled and the end of both races was inevitable so it was the only way for us to survive._

_Their agreement was that the mysticals would share with the humans their influence over the elements in return for the humans durablity. The life span that the humans attained was shared as well and both creatures were given a life expectancy of 100. Except for a selected group of elders from both sides that would keep watch over their children and fix any problems that would arise again. A blood oath was made to bind their sacred union that could not be broken._

_ But at the Celebration where they were to carry out the ceremony something happened that neither side had expected. When the two King's blood had interwined a wispy red mist covered the earth engulfing the two species and luring them into a deep sleep. While they slept the blood mist crept into their systems making changes and alterations to their bodies. But for some, they did not make it. Those who had been affected positively by the agreement awoke a few days later feeling stronger than they have ever felt before. Those who had been affected negatively were not so lucky. The mist that went into their bodies could not react with systems as well and brought on a terrible illness that spelled out nothing but death. Humans broke out in sores, Mysticals were erupting into dust. There was more pain and loss than during the war. There was a greater need then before for the two sides to combine and save their dwindling species. _

_ The answer was for the Kings cast another spell that would allow the earlier spell to skip over those who could not take it well. But the process took longer than they expected since King Darren was amoung those who fell ill. His life was slipping through his fingers fast and the spell needed to be carried out. With his last breath him and Scion cast the spell saving those who were dying. As the last of the royal bloodline (the youngest son, prince Jonathon died from the illness before the spell could be cast) left Darren the second was named king and given his father's seat in the circle of elders._

"You see the fumes that the blood mist emitted interacted with our systems. For most people their systems reacted negatively with the it resulting in an illness or death. But **our** genes are receptive to the fumes and that has resulted in the gifts we have been given", the headmaster finished his speech and looked expectantly into our faces.

"Wait a second so you're telling me that whatever has happened to us has happened because of some war?...So why havn't I heard this story before like in history books or something?" Gwen's voice once again broke us from our silence.

"Years after the war another fight happened amoung us humans where those who had not been gifted accused the mysticals of setting everything up. They knew about the lives the mysticals lost and that the accident was never intended but they would not listen to reason. So to protect the truce their memories were wiped of everything that happened. All records of the deaths and war were blamed on a false plague they were told started from rats", the small gypsy girl was the first to answer Gwen's question. The cute and innocent voice that I had been expecting was instead an aged voice full of wisdom which took me back.

"Now you're probably wondering how we can help you with this and from the schedules you are receiving you'll see that your day is split in two. The first part of your day starting at 9 is your academic part where you'll have your basic classes. Math, Science, English etc. and your evening classes will be your…physical education classes. It's in this time that we'll help you develop and hone your skills. And since you are all beginning here you will not be participating in our college classes just yet. We feel that this year is very important in a transitional point of view". I was barely listening to the Headmasters speech-which was unusual for me-instead all of my attention was consumed by the small paper in my hands.

_9:00 -english 101_

_10:00 –advanced matematics _

_11:00 -beginner's science_

_12:00 -world history_

_1:00 -3:00- lunch and free time_

_3:00-beginners elements_

_5:00-physical education_

_6:00-dinner and free time_

"Beginner's element? What's that mean?" I turned over to Bridgette's paper to find that our schedules were entirely the same.

"At least we have classes together", she shrugged off the question in my eyes and looked optimistically at the paper in her hands. She was right, at least we would have classes to share.

Our gathering followed the three heads out of the room as the tour began. Most of my classes were near each other so I had little trouble finding which was which. I took out a small pad and pen from my hand bag and wrote the room number and building the class was in. I wasn't going to be tardy to any class just because I had forgotten which room was which! The very thought made me annoyed.

**Hope you guys like my story so far **

**and thanx to everyone who has read & reviewed**

**you guys are much appreciated :D!!!**

**hope you keep on R&R**

**P.S.-don't own TDI sad but true :/**


	5. Chapter 5

Courtney's POV

I sighed contently as I walked out of the shower. The water-contrary to what most people like- was freezing cold. Something I found to be soothing. I shook my hair a good couple of times before running my peach colored towel through it. I looked at myself in the bathroom's long mirror and grunted at the sight. My hair although short and damp still managed to appear frizzy and unkept. Each strand was scrunched up in a tight bouncing curl that laid on my jaw. That was one of the things I hated about my hair-the curls. They were too…wild in a way and so difficult to manage. It's why I always straightened my hair. Drying off the rest of my body and quickly getting dressed I plugged in my small flat iron. Slowly I ran over each strand softly singing to myself. I loved this time of day-the early morning. It was 6:00 am to be specific and that meant no one else was awake. And **that** meant that I didn't have to be bothered by anyone. It was guaranteed alone time. Bridgette wasn't going to be awake for at least another hour or so and as far as I knew no one else was up at this time either. Yup definite silence.

Sighing contently I put on the final touches to my golden brown hair and packed up my equipment. Quietly I slipped back into my room making sure to keep every movement light as air. I looked down on the digital clock near my bed. 7:05. Not bad, usually doing my hair took a little longer than that.

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _Bridgette's annoying alarm clock went off obnoxiously besides her forcing her awake.

"Poor Bridge", I thought to myself. I would hate it if I was woken up like that-especially if I was having a good dream. If that were me I would wake up thrashing ready for a fight. That's why I stuck to using just my cell phone. I kept it on vibrate so the jolt would wake me up gradually instead of instantaneously.

"Hmm", Bridgette mumbled carefully propping herself up on her bed and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Damn beep", she harshly pounded the off button at the top in annoyance. Her hair was strung out all over the place and looked like an electric current had shot through it. Her golden eyes were drooping in confusion. She looked like she had no idea where she was. I tried to stop the giggle from escaping my mouth but it was pointless. Seeing her waking up was hilarious and so unlike her. Her usual laid back temper was replaced by irritation and puzzlement. It was quite funny.

"Easy there Bridge. Don't wanna break the poor thing", I laughed at her blushing face and turned back to my own business. I had almost finished getting myself together by the time she grabbed her bath robe and soap. Tugging down my shirt I walked over to the long mirror in the room to examine my work. I was wearing a simple white shirt with sleeves that came down to my elbows. It wrapped around my body loosely not giving away too much about what lay beneath it. My jeans were simple dark blue hip huggers and my shoes white strapped up wedges. My hair was kept in place by a white band and my bangs hung like puffs of smoke above my eyes. In all I had the look of a casual business women. To say the least I was very pleased with the outcome.

"Hey Courtney I'm about to head down stairs for breakfast, you comin'?" Bridgette came back into the room fully dressed and ringing out her hair with her deep blue towel.

"Of course, let me just get my bag right quick", I hoped off of my bed and grabbed my large over the shoulder cotton book bag. I checked its contents making sure that each pen and notebook was where it should be.

"Why are you bringing a bag? It's only the first day?" Bridgette eyed the cotton bag at my side with a smile.

I shrugged as if the answer were obvious."You could never be too careful. I might need to take something down during class". This may have been the first day but that didnt mean the professors went by the same slacking rituals the students did.

"Ok then…" Bridgette gave me a weak smile as we headed towards the cafeteria we had seen yesterday.

"I think it got bigger over night", Bridgette muttered awe struck by the large sea green walls that stretched for miles. I wanted to tell her that the very notion of something "growing" overnight was ridiculous but looking over the vast number of tables and chairs I had a hard time disagreeing. The room was filled with scattered groups of kids stuffing their faces with clumps of food. We each grabbed a black tray and made our way over to the line for the breakfast buffet. The selection was amazing. I was half expecting the piles of waffles and bowls of scrambled eggs to be props made out of plastic as a prank to the new students. But the smell oozing from the side convinced me of their realness. I skipped over the pancakes and bacon and went straight for the fruits and bagels. I know it sounds crazy to refuse dripping bacon and warm short stacks but I couldn't eat that much in the morning. That last time I stuffed myself with carbs and fats in the money I nearly threw up my insides only a few minutes. And having that happen here...in front of all these people-not going to happen. So I picked out a small fruit salad and sliced toast to go on the side. Bridgette, who had made a similar plate to mine and a huge advocate for animal rights, seemed pleased with my choice.

Breakfast went by fast and we found meaningless things to talk about while we sat at the nearly empty table. As time passed more people from our "house" (still wasn't used to saying that word) came and joined us.

"So who do you think will be our English teacher? I hope we get someone who's nice" Bridgette asked me dumping her left overs into a large metal trash can.

"I don't know. I don't really want a nice teacher though…well maybe I do but I don't want an easy teacher. They make the class so boring", I responded shadowing her actions and heading to our first class. Even though we had been there for a day or so I already felt like I knew this place like the back of my hand. I barely had to look at the numbered buildings we passed on our way.

"I guess you have a point. Well let's just hope she's nice and hard", Bridgette merged our two likes together. I laughed.

"Sorry, but I don't think that's possible. You can't have your cake and eat it too." I said. Our laughs echoed down the long brick hallways where trophies of games won and portraits of old men hung. Together we reached our first class where an elderly woman sat at an oak desk with a goofy smile. She seemed to be looking at nothing in particular, just the walls. Why I had no idea. Her silver hair was pulled back into a tight braid that flew down her back and became a pool in her seat. she was dressed in an intricate robe like outfit of gold and blue. Across the material in even patterns golden flowers were laced. She wore the beautiful material with a comfortable feel like the masterpiece she had was just a batrobe from JC Penny. From her expression she could've had pink fuzzy slippers under the desk.

"Well hello there Courtney. Hello Bridgette. I'm your English teacher, Professor Dotty. You two are early but that's just fine, I know ya'll are early risers" her elderly voice came out in a shaky southern twang and a spark of madness lit up in her grey eyes. Shock ran down my spine as the woman said our names. I immediately scolded myeslf. The story Headmaster told us yesterday raced through my head. Weird things like this were bound to keep happening. I had to grip on myself.

"Excuse me but how do you know our names", I took the initiative to ask since Bridgette was too baffled to say anything.

"Oh, 'scuse me for just goin' off the rattle like that. It's my talent. Ya see Imma time watcher. Well for the present anyway. Sorry bout catchin' ya'll off guard." Her sweet smile boarded seeing our bewildered expressions. She didnt bother trying to explain to us what a time watcher was or what she meant about "just the present anyway". She just looked at us with that carzy gleam and continued in a more mysterious tone. "You'll find that this school is filled with extraordinary talent girls…". Her serious gaze transformed into a happy oblvious smile in a matter of minutes, and before long she began ruffling the papers on her desk. She acted as if she hadn't even seen us come in.

Marking her as slightly deranged Bridgette and I slowly backed away from her desk and headed to a few seats near the middle. Minutes ticked by and our uncomfortable silence grew. Neither of us felt right saying anything so close to a mentally insane person. Who knew what other babbling things she would start on. Thankfully it wasn't long before students started coming in. The first people to come were those clone girls, Katie and Sadie who blissfully skipped into the room chatting about shoes, nail polish and the hottest actors of the year (the teacher didnt give them one word!). After them the others came filing in like a stampede, filling out the empty chairs randomly. The last people to come in were Geoff and a couple of his buddies whooping loudly.

"Good mornin' class, for those of you who don't a'ready know me I'm your new English teacher, Professor dotty", she stood up from behind her desk claiming everybody's attention. "Now I'm sorry to inform ya'll but in my class the students have assigned seats"-a large groan erupted around the room, which made her laugh.

"When I call ya name please go to the assigned seat I show you", without taking out a piece of paper she called off the names, "Courtney darlin' you can stay where you are but Bridgette Imma have you go sit near Katie near the back. Rose sweetie why don't you come up to the front and sit next to Courtney".

The classroom became chaotic as people tried to find out where they were sitting and who they were supposed to be sitting next to. After a few switches I ended up being somewhere towards the back next to Rose. I had a clear view of the school's courtyard next to the window- a seat that kids killed for- and hated it. I wasn't in the back of the class but I also wasn't in the front which meant that I would have to work extra hard on focusing. I was a good student and excellent at focusing but even I had some difficulted now and then. Being in the back definitely didnt fix that. At least I had Rose to sit next to me. I looked over the room where Bridgette sat twindling her thumbs in the very front. She was wedged in between Dj and Harold. While Dj was very sweet and easy to sit next to it was Harold who made me pity her. His mop of red hair bounced with excitement as he indulged himself in a conversation-with no one in particular- about the usefulness of male beavers to their mates. He had no idea that the people around were pointedly trying to ignore him or if he did he definitely didn't let that bother him one bit.

"Ok now that that's all settled let's get started. Today we're not going to do anything big I just want to go over the rules of the class and maybe do a quick free writing exercise", as she trailed off her short speech rules, I took out a pen and paper to take down notes. I knew I was going to need my bag. I smiled to myself smugly, glad I had justly defended it's presence this morning.

"Courtney why are you taking notes? She didn't say we needed to", Rose looked over my shoulders at the neat column of rules I had copied on my paper. Each word was written down in an elegant script of cursive and marked with a diamond bulletin.

"Well I want to be prepared and make sure I remember the rules", I stated back as if the answer were obvious. And it was. What was with everyone and asking obvious questions today. What if I accidentally got into some kind of trouble because I couldn't remember one of the rules? Finishing my statement I heard a low snort behind me. I whipped my head around to see who had the audacity to make fun of me. Duncan, go figure. In the chaos of moving around desks and people I forgot to keep tabs on who was near me-with the exception of Rose of course. Not one of my best moves.

"Is something wrong?" I looked over his pierced face in disgust not even bothering to disguise my anger this time. Being polite with this guy would get me nowhere and to be honest I didn't think he deserved it. I only knew him for a couple of days but I figured he ought to know I already despised him.

"Oh nothing **sweetheart**, just thought of something funny", he sneered right back at me. I already knew what he was laughing at. Someone who actually wanted to succeed in life-yeah must be a crack up to him. Squaring my shoulders and straightening my back I still pushed forward.

"Oh really and what would that be? OH let me guess someone actually came to school to learn. Gasp! Who would have thought" I snapped with sarcasm. I was alittle taken aback by my own bitter reply. I rarely ever resulted to harsh words or phrases, but for some reason I couldn't stop my self.

"It's because he doesn't deserve a kind gesture. He made that evident yesterday when he threw my bags on the floor", I mentally defended myself for my actions. From the corner of my eye I could see Rose looking at me with worried eyes. But I ignored it. The last time I had talked to him he walked away before I could say anything leaving me standing there like an idiot. The memory of it made me even more pissed. I was **not** going to let him win again. Nobody ever messed with Courtney Alvaro! And he was going to learn that one way or another.

"Oh you caught me babe-red handed. Now why don't you turn back around. I wouldn't want to distract your pretty little head from your precious notes" he smirked leaning over his desk to sneer even more in my face.

"My name is NOT babe, and it's NOT sweetheart. It's Courtney", I hissed through my teeth keeping my voice low. Everything else he said after babe went right through one ear and out the other, which is probably why I didn't chew him out on the whole "Pretty little head" comment.

"Eh no thanks, I'll stick with my names", he grinned from ear to ear seeing my red face. I did nothing but glare at him now. If I opened my mouth one more time I probably would have cussed him out then and there. He was lucky I was in a classroom.

"Court", rose pulled my attention back to the class motioning to the assignment on the board.

"Stupid criminal", I muttered under my breath turning back to my work. Thankfully the minute I turned around it was time to move onto second period. I looked up at the ceiling imaging fluffy clouds and golden gates folding my hands in thanks. Someone must've really loved me up there. Sending a quick glare over my shoulder I stomped out of the room with Rose and Bridgette asking me what was wrong.

The rest of the day went on much like my first class with a few exceptions. When I walked into the class the teachers didn't find a need to confuse me with mindless enigmas like Mrs. Dotty. Thankfully none of them decided to play musical chairs with our seating arrangements either. I probably would've if I got stuck sitting near him again. Scratch that- I would die. Their rules were graciously first come first serve so I got a front row seat in nearly all of my classes. The best seat. All of that meant that while I was in the front paying attention and taking notes that jerk, Duncan was all the way in the back unable to bother me. Essentially my classes flew by ending my day at lunch time. Instead of continuing the rest of the day with our physical education classes the headmaster told us to take the rest of the day off. It was so we could get used to the school slowly, he said. So after lunch I went back to the dorm with Bridgette to get ahead on some of the books my profesors suggest I read. After all the idiot induced stressed from first period I needed some cool off time with a good book


	6. Chapter 6

Elemental class

Duncan's POV

I strolled into the antique room only a few minutes behind the scheduled time. There were no bells or alarms that went off during the day to signal the end of the class or when to move onto the next one. It was confusing as hell to work on my own time. I was on my own when it came to stuff like that, and so far I was doing a crappy job. Plus I guess taking a break for a smoke didn't help my either. Oh well-it's a good thing I didn't care about those kinds of things. I looked around the near full room to see if I was in the clear or not. There were twelve square tables that could hold up to four people at each comfortably to. Each was supported by square metal legs. Waiting patiently for the professor to show up were the rest of the students. The room was nearly full and only missing one person...me.

"Great", I rolled my eyes. I sneered at Ezekiel, Harold, Cody and Noah in the front. These nerds were sure to snitch on me now. I calmly walked to the back ignoring the eyes planted to my face. Have they never seen

Geoff was sitting in the empty table in the back. Next to him were Trent and Dj looking just as bored as I felt. They were all looking jealously at Geoff who had his hat slanted down on his face hiding his features. Guess he was trying to catch up on some sleep from the other night. From the bags under their eyes I could tell they hadn't gotten any sleep either. Especially Trent who looked only seconds away from fighting Geoff for the 'don't wake me up' sign the hat offered. I couldn't blame him- it took everything within me to not jump over all the tables and claim the hat as my own. Then maybe people would finally take a hint and stop waking me up during class. Next to their table was Tavons only a few feet away where he was sitting with Owen, Tyler and that pretty boy Justin. Tavon was hunched over on his desk with bags as large as Trent's and mine. In the middle of the room was Leshawna and Gwen who were chatting happily with Courtney and Bridgette at the same time. In the middle along with Leshawna's table was Heather and her little clique of Lindsey, Joanna and Beth. Everyone of them (except for Beth who was watching like a lost puppy) were doing their makeup. Honestly I didn't even think anyone could fit anymore makeup on those faces. Everyone else was looking around the room boredly and shooting me nervous looks like I was about to do something. If they looking at me like that I probably would start something. In the very front of the class was a long desk with neatly piled papers on its surface. Behind the desk was a dark swivel chair that was empty. No teacher yet. Smirking I strolled on down to Geoff's table and followed his lead relaxing into my seat. No teacher meant no yelling about punctuality. Perfect.

"Hey D, where ya been?" Geoff snapped up from his little nap and looked groggily at me repositioning his hat. There was still crust around his eyes proclaiming his weariness.

"I went to take a smoke out back", I shrugged with a smile. I felt someone staring at me so I looked up and sure enough there was Courtney glaring at me with disgust. The thought of someone skipping out on school to pollute the air with cigarette smoke was probably beyond awful to her. From how nosy she usually was with other people's business I was surprised she wasn't ranting about "mother earth" to me now. Smiling I gave her a quick wink and turned back to Geoff already knowing that her face was turning red. Any other day I would've probed her further but today I just didn't have the energy.

"You're lucky, the teach still hasn't gotten here", Dj nodded towards the empty chair in the front.

I shrugged again and rocked back into my chair waiting for the class to start. Since it was my first day in this class and all I tried my best to not skip (I had all year to mess things up after all). The seconds ticked by and still there was no teacher.

"Ugh, I'm so beat", the weight in my head pulled me down towards the table top. Sleep was starting to take over again.

"Dude I thought you said you could handle late night parties", Geoff voice caught a teasing tone. He was actually suggesting that I of all people couldn't handle a good party. Please I lived for crazy red cup parties.

" Please that party was nothin'. I've been to crazier. It's just been my second night without sleep. It's nothin' ", I shrugged off my tiredness with memories of last night. Man that was a good time. Matt who was only two years older than Geoff and attended this school as well was known for throwing sick parties. He threw one nearly every day of the week-except for Sunday which was his day of rest. (I couldn't stop laughing about that one). He was a legend and as his younger brother Geoff was invited (along with any of his friends who wanted to come-Matt believed in the more the merrier rule). So after lunch me, Trent, Dj, Tavon and Geoff headed down to the beach. We were going to get more people to come-like Bridgette who he insisted on inviting-but no one seemed to be around. But still…good night.

"Well damn dude why didn't you just go to sleep in your classes. It's not like we're doin' much", Geoff looked at me surprised that I hadn't thought of that idea first but trust me I did. That was the first thing I thought of. But it just didn't work out that way. English was too noisy- Professor Dotty believes in reading loudly to make a point (I swear she's crazy)and I just couldn't help but make snide comments whenever Mrs. Priss decided to open her mouth. A few minutes of lost sleep were worth it to get on her nerves. After that class everything went downhill. Everyone had something to say. Or had to ask me a question or chose that specific day to strike up a conversation and be social. It was like karma was finally choosing to give me some pay back.

I left that question unanswered. I decided that pointing out that he was stopping me from sleeping as well would be stupid. That would just make the conversation longer and that would mean less sleep for me. Geoff, Trent, Dj, and Tavon they were lucky. They aleast had the opportunity to sleep during the day. Whenever i saw one of them they were laying down in some way. Plus unlike me and Geoff they left the party early to get a little more sleep. Lucky bastards...I should've followed them out the door but after five months in juvie I was deprived. And the girl sitting on my lap stopped me from even trying to get up. Just as I was about to drift off the door of the room burst open. Rushing over to the teacher's desk was a dark skinned man in his thirties wearing jeans and a white dress shirt.

"Sorry I'm late students, I would give you an explanation but I don't think it would really matter…I am Professor Nuland", he cut his rambling short and gave an apologetic smile. I grunted at him before turning my head back down not even bothering to lift my head during attendance. I let Geoff do the answering for me.

"All of you are in this class for a reason. Each one of you has a talent that duplicates a form of one of the elements. Fire, water, earth, air, and spirit", while he spoke he took out a long crystal vile by his side. The vile was narrow and had blue markings etched around it. There was some kind of liquid swishing around the large hollow diamond. Nuland put his hand inches above the lid and made it jump off of the vile. With a flick of his wrist water came flowing out of its case following his every move. The line of water twisted in the air above him making small circles around his body. After a few loops around himself Nuland flicked the water towards us making the circles much tighter. Faster and faster the water twirled until it exploded into a shower of mist that cascaded over us.

"UH! My hair!" the hot chick with long black hair covered her hair in fear, "Do you know what water does to my hair!" she squealed in anger trying to use her purse as a cover. The girls around her automatically clutched their heads even Beth's who hair already looked messy. A table ahead of them Katie and Sadie mimicked them releasing a loud screech. What drama queens even I wasn't worried about the water's effect on my gelled hair.

And just as easily as he let the water shower us he drew every single drop back, sucking the moisture from the air and back into the container. "These elements can be represented in different ways, like for earth: metal, air: the wind and so on and so forth. Now tell me, by a show of hands, has anyone used their talent of their own will?"

I grunted once more making sure he saw me and put my head back down "Ok that's a good number...definitely more than half the class", Nuland clapped his hands with joy. "Would anyone like to demonstrate, perhaps you in the back?"

Geoff elbowed me in my ribs jerking me awake **again**. I didn't have to ask him what was up cuz I knew. Nuland was talking about me. Karma was definitely trying to kick my ass here. Sighing I got up from my seat and walked to where Nuland was standing in the front. Without saying a word I snapped my fingers and a small fire lit up on thumb just like from the fantastic four movie. Cliché I know and probably overrated but it came in handy when I needed a lighter. The flame that started on the tip of my thumb had spread slowly engulfing each of my fingers until finally my fist was covered. Smirking I let the fire die and walked back to my seat where Trent clamped me on my back. The next person to demonstrate was that small girl covered in leaves. Skipping to the front she took a small flower from her hair and concentrated hard on it. Within a minute the flower pulsated with life and grew twice its size. From below its petals long vines elongated and wrapped around her wrist. Once again the class clapped.

"That was great Rose", Courtney smiled at her before walking to the front. I guess she was the third person to get called on. This was going to be good. I kept my head up this time and shook myself awake. Even if I was tired, nothing in my body would allow me to pass this chance up. Once she got to the front desk she began concentrating on her hands. Minute after minute ticked by and still nothing happened. I smiled at the treat I was getting, maybe karma wasn't as mad at me as I thought.

"Hurry it up sweetheart", I yelled from the back, it was becoming hard to fight against the sleep again. But more importantly it was to get under her skin and get her back for giving me that look in the beginning of the class. Her face turned a bright pink and she stared even harder at her hands after receiving a nod of encouragement from Leshawna. Nuland ever patient didn't say a word to her. He seemed to be deep in thought. Guess he was thinking about the hours we were bound to be spending here waiting for **her** to do something. A few more seconds passed and her hands turned a light blue shade.

"What?- that's it?" I huffed out trying to hold back a laugh. I got a nasty look from a few other people but I didn't care, they couldn't look me in the face so it didn't matter. Besides this was too good to care. After nearly five minutes of silence the only thing that happened was her skin turned a different color. Was that all she could do? Turn into a giant blueberry…impressive. Real impressive. I faked another laugh and smirked at her. Her face turned an even darker red and then suddenly a light shade of blue. She began gritting her teeth. Her arms turned into a deeper blue and began to gloss over with a thin layer or ice. Layer after layer folded over her arms and traced up to her shoulder at a rapid pace. Her feet were captured in a thin sheet of ice. She didn't notice any of this because we were engrossed in a staring contest. I was gritting my teeth as well some reason I didn't know yet. I felt like this was slowly turning into a competition between me and her and as childish as it sounded I didn't want to lose to her.

"Well done Courtney!" Nuland patted her on the shoulder snapping her back to reality. We both looked over at the teacher. The class erupted in applause at her accomplishment and her friends gave her hugs. God it wasn't that impressive. A few frozen ice blocks and everyone went crazy. But after the time she kept us waiting I guess they were all relieved it was over.

"Ok now for the rest of you", Nuland side stepped the ice on the floor with a weary glance. Even though I was sure he had to go through classroom maintenance like this all the time, something told me it still aggravated him.

"Having a difficult time calling on your element is very common during this early stage. In fact it's what expected. Each gift is unique to the person so likewise so is their timing. With diligence and practice it will come in no time. In order to control the elements you first have to know the elements and what they mean. So before we get into anything big we are going to focus on just that. The elements." Nuland glanced at the clock and smiled. "It seems that our time together has run out, but before you go I have a small assignment for you. And I know it's only your first class, but trust me it's not that big. What I want you to do is think about your element. Write down whatever you think your element is or what it does, etc. You are dismissed".

The movement in the class came back to life and yet I was still. What was fire to me? I had no idea. I didn't even know what Nuland was talking about. So how do I answer a question I know nothing about? Whatever I could stress about it after I had my nap. Yawning I got out of my seat and followed Geoff to our next class.

"Hey dude it's over here", me and Geoff finally reached stadium one where most of our gym classes were going to be. Rubber padded floors, and plastics walls-the classic gym look. Over to the side of the room was a row of bleachers calling my name. The hard metal surface was cold to the touch but in my tired state still inviting. The bench could have been covered in glass shards and I wouldn't care.

"Hey Geoff, I'm going to bed. I can't hold out any longer", I called over my shoulder to my buddy hoping he would take the hint and leave me alone.

"But what about the class?"

"It's gym. What's so important about gym? Besides if I get in trouble I'll just deal with it later. I don't have enough energy to care right now"

"Ok cool, cool", his voice finally faded into the background as I slipped into a deep sleep.

Courtney's POV

"You sure you don't want to get a pair of sneakers right quick. Really I wouldn't mind walking back with you. Promise", Rose looked down at my strapped up wedges worried. The look she was giving me said it was only a matter of seconds before I twisted my ankles off.

"Really I'd rather not. I can run just fine in them!" I slipped on the gym shorts that were set up in the girl's locker room. Each of us had a locker and outfit waiting for us when we got to the stadium. Thank God. I should've been more prepared though. It wasn't like me to not think ahead of schedule. I didn't feel like messing up my perfectly good clothes with sweat. And even worse people would see me in those dirty clothes. I shuddered just thinking about it.

"You can play in those? Girl I'd pay to see that. You crazy for even tryin'", Leshawna finished tying up her sneakers on the bench behind us shaking her head sadly. Gwen all ready to go was leaning up against my locker smiling. Both were already dressed in standard white t-shirts and grey shorts, except for Gwen who still had on her black stilettos boots.

I remember when Bridgette had first introduced us just moments ago at lunch. After classes had finished Rose and I headed out to grab a table before the good ones were gone. Ten minutes later Bridgette came strolling up to us tray in hand with Leshawna and Gwen behind her. Leshawna seemed nice enough. Her smile was warm and everything she said was at least sincere. In fact there wasn't one bad thing that I could say about her. Gwen on other hand- I didn't know what to think. From her dyed hair, dark clothes, and nonchalant pose she seemed just like that delinquent. But I didn't take in that whole scary thing others did. Her being scary-I just didn't see it. Plus she was nice when she decided to talk, a little sarcastic but still nice. In all they were nice people and became friends by the end of our lunch period. After lunch we all decided to head to element class together where God willing we would be able to sit together.

"Hey the heel's not that tall-it's only three inches, besides Gwen is wearing heels too and I don't hear anyone talking about her", I defended myself. Really my shoes weren't bad. I could walk in them all day and still have the energy to go for a jog in the park.

"Yeah but mine are closed toe and I don't have straps branding my feet", Gwen lifted her foot in the air showing off her steel toed boots. Maybe I should go and get my sneakers after all.

"Well it's too late to go now. I hear a whistle blowing outside. It's probably time to start", Bridgette spoke beside me patting me on the back and shoving me through the doors.

"Aight we comin'. I wonder what we playin'", Leshawna asked as we headed out to the benches were the rest of our house were waiting. The teacher was nowhere to be seen but Chris was off in the corner on his cell phone talking to someone. The reason he was here was beyond me.

"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS HUP TO NOW!" A large black man in camaflouged clothes came strolling into the room. He was wearing a tight beige tank top that showed off his threatening muscles and loose parachute pants that were tucked into a pair of black boots. Around his vieny neck was a shiny whistle and his bald head was covered with a sergeant's hat. There is no way **he** could be our gym teacher. Please tell me this was just a joke.

"LISTEN UP, I AM YOUR PYHSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER ALONG WITH PRETTY BOY OVER THERE"- the scary looking man pointed to the corner where Chris was now hanging up his phone -"YOU MAY ADDRESS ME AS MASTER CHEF AND NOTHING ELSE". "Master Chef", kept screaming on and on about the rules and I tried my best to listen to them. Really I did, but his voice was just so loud and his face so weird it was hard to concentrate on anything but the vein popping out of his neck. Any second now I was sure that it was going to pop. Even if I didn't listen, I was sure that my face still looked concerned. It was a good thing I could act, because I was sure that he would have bitten my head off if I looked anywhere but at him. I didn't have to steal a glance down the line of us to know that everyone else had the same fear.

"NOW TODAY WE ARE GOING TO BE PLAYING **DODGEBALL, **THE LOSING TEAM WILL BE RUNNING AN EXTRA **20** LAPS AROUND THE TRACK FIELD BEFORE CLASS IS FINISHED", he walked down the line like a lion waiting to pounce on his prey. Every now and then he would stop mid sentence and sneer in one of our faces. Which was entirely uncalled for. I would have definitely said something if it wasn't for Bridgette's hand gently poking me from time to time.

"Am I that easy to read?" I thought to myself.

"Ok then. Thank you very much Chef"-Master chef grunted at Chris attempt at gratitude (touchy much?)-"Now that the rules are done we can make the teams. The teams I split you up into now will be permanent until the end of the class. Now the first team will be: Heather, Cody, Lindsey, Justin, Leshawna, Izzy, Joanna, Trent, Noah, Gwen, Nicole, Dariun, Beth, Frankie and Owen. You will be the Screaming Gophers!" Chris said with enthusiasm that was really unneeded.

"The screaming gophers? Are you serious?" Heather scoffed at the name given to her as if she was personally insulted. Chris only nodded his head and laughed like it was the best joke ever.

"YEAH IT'S THE SCREAMING GOPHERS DO YOU HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THE NAME **I** PICKED? HM? DO YA?" Master Chef came hurling behind Chris with clenched fist and the vein popping out of his neck like never before. Heather shrunk back behind that big guy Owen and shook her head.

"Did I say that, I meant it was great. Right guys?" she looked around at her team who nervously nodded their heads.

"Ok so the next team is: Bridgette, Harold, Dj, Daniel, Tavon, Geoff, Shanice, Tyler, Courtney, Katie, Sadie, Rose, Eva, Ezekiel and Duncan. You guys will be the Killer Bass! Enjoy it!" Chris looked up from his list and scanned the crowd. "Ok so now- hey Killer Bass it looks like you're missing a fish". Chris began recounting us as we looked around our group for whoever was missing.

"12, 13…14. He's right there's only 14 of us…but who's not here", I looked over the crowd again wondering who it was that was absent. Then it hit me, there wasn't a green Mohawk to be seen anywhere in our line.

"Where's Duncan?" Bridgette voiced my question. She seemed to be sharing the same thoughts as me. Personally I would've been happy to know he was lost in some ditch somewhere if it didn't mean we could lose this game.

"Oh he's on the bleachers sleeping", Geoff pointed to where Duncan was laying sound asleep "Dude had a rough couple nights…I don't think he'll be playing today". Geoff tried to go wake up the deliquient but his body didn't budge.

"Great now we're down one player", I sighed to myself at the sleeping slump.

"Calm on we'll be fine without him", Rose came over to me and ushered me out to our side. She couldn't have been more wrong.

After the second game was called to an end we were granted a resting period. The game had been brutal and our team was a jumbled mess. I sunk to the bleachers worn out and sweating. It turned out that the lovable Owen was amazing at dodgeball and nearly took out half the team under two minutes. Sure they had players like Noah who wouldn't participate even if his life depended on it but our team was much worse. Our best athlete Eva was taken out of the game permenantly after she knocked Ezekiel out-who by the way was her own teammate-for saying something stupid that I didn't catch. Whatever it was it really couldn't be that bad that he should get a mini concussion. Bridgette-who I thought was good at sports-turns out to be good at **only** water sports. Within a few minutes of the second game she single handedly knocked out three of our players by tripping over the ball and sending it crashing into the unexpected teammates. Harold was probably the second to worst player we had. In the very beginning he tried doing some ninja kick with a ball. Long story short the ball didn't move three inches and he got himself out. Tyler was just terrible. Period! Every time he was given a ball he would do some kind of spin thing that sent the balls in all different directions. The only opponent he actually managed to hit was that blonde bimbo Lindsey. Then after seeing what he did he rushed over to see if she was ok and whisked her away to God knows where. Everybody else was pretty good but we were still out numbered 15 to 10. Chris and Master Chef gave us no help whatsoever even when Heather threw a ball at our players from the side lines. They just said it was good entertainment, laughed and went on with the game like nothing happened. Yup just great. Both games were disasterous.

"Look there is no way were gonna win this with the amount of players we have now", I turned towards Bridgette who was sulking next to Dj. I knew she could feel the eminent defeat coming fast and even worse the laps that were guaranteed after. I looked down at my swelling feet. There was no way I could survive 20 laps without my feet exploding. This was definitely the last time I wore heels to gym.

"There has to be some way to still win this dudettes!" Geoff tried to cheer us up with optimism but it wasn't working. The way we were going failure was at our feet.

"We need someone brutal-an ace in the whole!" I pounded my fist on the benches. Geoff was right we could win this but we needed a comeback.

"Yeah! Someone who's hands on and willing to get a little dirty", Dj jumped in enthusiastically. Our team began to form around our conversation with determined looks. There was a way to come out on top but the answer was hidden.

"But who do we know that's like that?" the moment Bridgette asked that question all eyes went straight to the sleeping form on the bottom bleacher. We slowly got off the seats and crowded around him. We definitely needed him to win. As much as I hated to admit it he was an asset.

"Ok we need to wake him up", I said crossing my arms.

"Um I don't know guys. He didn't, like, get a lot of sleep last night and waking him up right now would do some serious damage", Geoff stepped back imagining the horror.

"But we need him awake", Harold squeezed through the throng of kids and began wheezing heavily.

"Harold's right!" I looked over my teammates with confidence before pushing Harold towards the laid out body everyone was talking about "So go wake him up".

"What why me?" he tried running away from Duncan but was stopped by a wall of kids.

"Because-besides Tyler- you're the worst at dodgeball and we can't afford to lose anyone else. Besides he won't actually kill you, no matter what Geoff said. Trust me you'll be fine", I tried to push him forward but he struggled against my force. Heads nodded in agreement. They knew I was right.

"Wait a minute, I've got an idea", Dj rushed outside returning with a long stiff branch "We could wake him up from a distance just in case we need to bail last minute. Harold and I grabbed the branch and marched forward. Harold was in front while I was backing him. I wasn't even supposed to be doing this, but he wouldn't go through it unless someone went with him. So now I had to hold his hand through it all. Just great. All we did was poke him once in the face and he snapped up like a rubber band. The irritation was written all over his face. Snatching the branch away from us he snapped it in half like it was nothing more than a twig. His eyes lit up with anger and his hands began to glow a bright red.

"All I wanted was a little bit of time to go to sleep. But no! So I'll give you three seconds to defend yourself nerd**-before** I break you in half!" Duncan pulled at the collar of Harold's shirt and yanked him into the air. The smell off burning cloth was in the air and Harold's shirt was starting to steam.

"Maybe we should've let him sleep", I thought to myself. Harold couldn't even let out a breathe let alone a reason. Guilt was starting to overcome me, Harold wouldn't stand a chance against Duncan.

"Hey wait a minute it's not Harold's fault", I put my hands up in defense and stepped in between the two- as stupid as it may sound. "Look we totally stink right now and I can appreciate you need your sleep and all but we need your help". I stomped my feet and looked him square in the eye letting him no that I wasn't going to back down. I was not going to lose this game now that there was a chance we could win. I wasn't going to let the victory out of my hands because some jerk wanted to act cranky. Out of the corner of my eye I saw our team slowly back away from me like I was crazy.

"Great. At least I know their supportive", I thought bitterly. They weren't willing to step in the line of fire like me. Oh well too late to back down now.

"Why would I help you **darling**? What's in it for me?" Duncan gave back his own strong glare and crossed his arms. His eyes kept reverting back to the bench where he was sleeping just moments ago. He was starting to lose his angry edge and regain a weary attitude.

"Because **darling** I am **not** going to be doing **any** laps for the crazy sergeant over there just because you want to catch up on some beauty sleep. And I'm sure that you don't want to either. Especially if you hope to get to your bed soon", I grinned in victory. I had him cornered and he knew it.

Duncan's POV

Fuck she had me cornered. I looked back eagerly at the bleacher I slept on. It was calling me. pleading me to come back to it. I looked back her stone glare and knew I had no choice. The shock of the moment initionally wore off replaced by anger. Who was this preppy little girl anyway? Did she think that she could talk to me like that? No one ever talked to me like that without being seriously burned after. I deepened my glare on her. Her face was like a stone unwilling to change or show any emotion. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest and she wore a small scowl. Her arm were fading into a blue color again as the silence deepend. Our staring challenge was growning again. Her arms slowly turning blue and mine turning sweltering red.

"Fine I'll do it." I sighed out in frustration. As much as I hated complying with her (and after she talked to **me** like that too) but I had no other options. Maybe it was the lack of sleep talking but she was right. I did want to get back to sleep as soon as possible so if that meant I had to deal with a prep with a pole up her ass for two measly games then so be it. But that didn't mean she wouldn't pay for it later. I was going to make her life a living hell.-"But you'll do what I say. When I say. Got it?"- Her face scrunched up annoyed for a moment before melting in defeat. If I was going to be backed into a corner so was she.

"Ok-" I gestured for everyone to form a tight circle around me "-here's a little technique I picked up in Juvie, it's called rush the new guy". I pounded my fist into my hand to show the force I meant to go behind my act.

"We take them down one by one, everyone going for the same target each time. Got it?" I looked around the circle to the nodding heads.

"Then we should go after Owen first. He's the toughest out of all of them. And if we don't take him out first then we could easily lose players", Courtney lost the scowl she had on before and now looked determined.

"Take down the toughest first. Good strategy", I thought to myself regarding Courtney next to me. Her determination to win was surprising. Who would think that Ms. Perfect had so much fire in her. I guess she wasn't as perfect as everyone made her out to be.

I took in the look of the other team. They too were huddled up in a circle though theirs was much more loose and relaxed. They all looked confident in another easy win. Geoff had caught me up a bit on where we stood and it wasn't pretty. Five of our players were already out and they had nearly all of theirs. And from what they told me about Owen I was definitely surprised. The big guy was giving himself a hug as we spoke.

Chris blew the whistle and hopped onto a wooden life guard seat that stood high above the players. Next to him wearing camouflage pants, was a huge dude- our gym teacher if Geoff wasn't lying to me- but he wasn't that big...or scary. If anything with that sneer he wore he just reminded me of the guards back at juvie. I already hated him. Both teams ran out onto the court ready to play. I was sent straight to the front on either side of me were Courtney and Dj crouching low to the ground. Our strongest players. Their eyes were planted on the balls in front of them. The second whistle blew and we were off. The three of us grabbed the balls set out in the middle and immediately went for Owen who was too busy looking off into the distance to notice three balls headed straight for him. All three balls pelted him in the face knocking him down. A gasp wet out around the room. The so called "mighty Owen" was taken down and so were the screaming gopher's chances. One by one, we took out the other team until finally we won. I stood in the back and nodded in approval. All around my team was jumping and giving high fives. The second game went much like the first. The players dropped like flies and we won again easy. We were tied.

"Man that trick is sick dude!" Geoff came and sat by me on the first row once a time out was called. He was panting and sweat was starting to fall down the side of his face. His shirt was open and barely on.

"What's with the shirt?" I leaned back in my seat letting my breathe level out. I could feel sweat drop down my cheeks. Maybe he wasn't so far off with the shirt thing. It was definitely hot enough. The only reason I asked was because he looked the coolest out of all of us.

"You know what, don't answer that", I followed his dreamy glazed eye to where Bridgette was laughing with Courtney and those twin girls. Well she was smiling at least. It was Sadie and Katie who were laughing hysterically. And Courtney she looked like she just about wanted to shot herself. Every now and then Bridgette would shot a shy look at Geoff to which Courtney would just shake her head like it was expected by now. It was like clockwork watching her and Geoff. Five, ten seconds passed and they looked back at each other. Wow he was gone already.

"ALRIGHT BACK ON THE COURT", the sergeant jackass screamed into a megaphone startling us from our seats.

"Hey it's my turn to play now, I haven't gone in yet", Harold rushed up to Courtney as if to ask permission. She just scoffed in his face.

"Uh hello you **did** play and you **stunk**. This is our last game and we need to win this one so we don't have to run", she looked at him like he was crazy for even suggesting that. I tried hard not to break down laughing I was sure I was smiling though. Man that was rough even for me. Ok I probably would've said something worse than that but for Ms. Perfect it was rough.

"Oh come on he'll be fine", Bridgette soothingly walked Harold away from Courtney who was sighing in defeat.

"Wait a minute Princess. Where do you think you're going?" I pushed the nerd to the back of the court where I was sure he wouldn't get in the way "Back of the court". I threw a thumb over my shoulder pointing him to the farthest corner.

When Chris was certain we were all in place he started the game with the final whistle blow. This game was the hardest of them all. At first we tried the same technique of rushing the players but the others were fast learners. They began using the same technique as us and I was the first target. I was out within a second. I spent the rest of the game on the sides watching both sides diminish slowly. Soon I became engrossed in the fight against the two teams-well mostly my team. Geoff was pretty good but he was too busy watching Bridgette to actually play the game right. Man he's got it bad. Bridgette wasn't **that** bad but she also wasn't good. Every time she got her hands on a ball she would trip over something and it would go flying to the other side. Harold was still hiding in the back staying out of the way. Every few minutes he would looked nervously towards me and then towards Courtney who was in the front. She was last of the three still out on the field…last of the two I mean. I watched Bridgette join us on the sides defeated. It was only Harold and Courtney left against Owen and Heather. Watching her play was weird. Courtney was ducking and dodging around the court with a fierce expression. As annoying as she was she was good. And determined to win. She had a fire that was unsettling-not that I was afraid of her. Hell No!- it was just different. She made a fast dive scooping up a ball and flinging it at Heather's face getting her out.

"Good throw babe", I muttered under my breath. Unfortunately for her and our team she was caught off guard by the hurling ball thrown by Owen. She had no chance of staying in, the ball was far too fast. There was a collective 'Ohh!' as the ball colided with her face knocking the scowl off.

"Court you ok?" Bridgette rushed up to her friend and helped her to a seat. Her eyes were shut tight and she was leaning on Bridgette for support.

"No-", she rubbed her cheek where she was hit looking peeved "We're going to lose now". She groaned out loud. The scowl was soon right back on her face looking even more fierce than before. She was definitely not someone I would want to mess with right about now.

"'We're going to lose?' That's what she's thinking all she's thinking about", I thought. I stared in amazement, most girls would be whining non-stop about their hair or their chipped nails. But I guess she was too absorbed in the game to care. All that was probably going to come in later. She was right though,we were definitely going to lose now. The odds were stacked against us. Our only team member still in the game was Harold and their's?...Owen. We had no chance.

"Well some much for that one", we all watched in horror as Owen began throwing ball after ball at Harold. Each of them were like deadly red globs of fire ready to kill their victim. Then one of the craziest things happened. Harold dodged them. **All** of them. The geek actually did it. He jumped across the ground and did sick spins until finally he caught the ball.

"No way", my mouth dropped in surprise and everyone-even some of the gophers- cheered for the nerd. It was incredible, even I couldn't pull a trick like that from my ass.

"Dude where did you learn that?" Dj ushered him back to us where he received pats and claps of congratulations.

"Figure skating", he snorted out a laugh and poked out his chest proudly. His beady green eyes became round with pride. And just like that any respect I had for him drained from my body. He went straight back to a geek in an instant. I was so ready to say something but I was still feeling a little grateful for not having to run so I kept my mouth shut. Besides I could always pick up on the insults I started tomorrow.

That night I slept like a rock.

**ok hoped you guys liked it, if you havn't already noticed (which really you should by now) I decided to put a little Tdi into the story. It won't happen alot though so sorry if you wanted more of that stuff. Also the new people I put in are Rose, Tavon, Shanice, Daniel, Dariun, Frankie, Joanna, and Nicole. 22 students just seemed like such a small number for a class so their mainly a filler. I will be doing some small chapters with them here and there but I promise they won't take away any attention from the tdi peoples. And to the people who were wondering I will be doing different point of views with other charecters in the up coming chapters but the focus will stay mostly on D&C just cuz I really love that couple XD. **

**thanx for reading and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Courtney POV

We were all cheering for Harold of all people. That's right I said Harold. We had just won our first game in physical education: dodge ball. A game I'm sure we'll never want to play again. Right when we thought the game was over and our chances gone Harold began doing ballet moves across the field dodging every ball that came his way. Finally he caught one and saved our skins from running until our feet came off.

"You don't know how happy I am right now", Bridgette lifted her head to the ceiling and released a small laugh. We both headed out to the cafeteria for dinner along with the rest of our team. The "screaming gophers"-weird name-were staying after to run laps.

"Poor guys…but better them than us", I smiled full of guilt at Gwen and Leshawna making their way to the track field outside. Really I did feel bad for them but not enough to actually join them. I wasn't suicidal.

We traveled the short walk and still in the spirit of teamwork sat together at the same table. I was wedged in between Bridgette and Rose and sat near the end with Geoff. Harold our honorary hero-temporarily-was placed at the very front for all to see.

"Before anything is said I think we should give a toast to Harold for whatever that stunt was he that he pulled!" I jumped up from my seat and lifted my cup in the air for others to follow. I wanted to add that I was also grateful that my feet were saved and how my eyes were finally opened to the practicality of wearing flats but that was a thought I didn't need to share.

"And how 'bout one more for my bro Duncan for that seriously wicked strategy he pulled out his ass"-Geoff rose up just as I began to sit down and raised his cup again. He looked down at his buddy and punched him in the arm playfully-"dude if it wasn't for you we'd be back there runnin'…seriously not cool". Another cheer went up around the table. I gave my own nod of approval when I knew he was looking. I wasn't going to cheer for him-I probably would never hear the end of that one from him-but he deserved something. And I was grateful for the trick. I was also a little mad that I hadn't come up with it before hand. I mean come on, an ambush on one player at a time- it was so simple!

"Well I'm going to sleep now, not that you're praise isn't well deserved. But I've had enough fun for one day. Don't miss me too much", Duncan shifted out of his chair waiting for the cheers to die down. He gave us one more grand bow before straightening up and heading back to the house. What a show off.

"Too think that we would miss him…yeah right", I snorted at his comment and turned over to Bridgette.

"We'll he did help us", Bridgette poked her fork in my direction already knowing she was right.

"I never said he didn't", I lowered my voice and let our conversation melt into the noises around us.

"You know I still can't believe you woke him up. I mean aren't you scared of him?" Bridgette looked amazed.

"Scared of him?" I looked at her like she was crazy. What did I have to be afraid of?

"Well not scared, but you know what I mean. He's hot and all but he's definitely not someone I would want to mess with, let alone wake up"

"Oh please he doesn't scare me. He's just some delinquent running a mock of society…and he is **not **hot", I pointed my fork back to her with defiance. What was with other girls and thinking he was hot? Because he was bad? That was just a turn off in my books. And so what if he was a little dangerous. It was nothing that I couldn't handle. And I definitely wouldn't let that get in my way.

"Sure, sure", Bridgette took one final look at her plate before deciding to just give up on it entirely. I felt the same. Eating was useless when you didn't have the energy to really lift the fork. Sighing I threw my left-overs away and headed back to the house after Bridgette. I was really going to enjoy this sleep.

Gwen's POV

My whole body was aching. It was screaming out in protest against the too rapid movements I was making. I could feel bruises forming across the surface of skin. "That's definitely gonna leave a mark in the morning", I rubbed the lower base of my spine and dropped to my bed.

"I feel ya, damn my back is hurtin'", Leshawna dragged her feet across the floor towards the bed beckoning for her. Her hair was disheveled and sweat was pouring down her face. "Big girls are **not** meant to be runnin' 'round like that." She peeled off her clothes and slipped into a pair of purple pants and an oversized t-shirt. "White boy was straight trippin'"

"I know, and what was with that drill master. I mean seriously **20** extra laps", I snatched off my own clothes and changed into a long black gown.

"Don't even get me started", she held her hand up as if already knowing what I was feeling.

"If I ever hear dodge ball again I might just puke", I stretched out my body once more and lay out on my bed. "You know what's weird though, I'm not tired yet". I propped myself on my elbows looking over to Leshawna wondering if I was insane for saying what I did.

"You know what me too. You wanna go watch TV downstairs? I wanna break that baby in already", she hopped off her bed with a renewed energy and headed for the door not waiting for my answer. Smiling I headed off following her through the door. Then suddenly my vision was obscured by a blurry scene.

_I was sitting on the large brown sofa laughing at a joke made in American Pie with Leshawna. It was around that part where the guy totally blows it with a gorgeous chick by coming a __**second**__ time, while the whole school was watching. Oh so classic. We were laughing hysterically when Trent came out of nowhere still wearing his outfit from earlier today. He had a laid back smile and a calm demeanor. _

_"Hey guys, mind if I join you?" he sat down in the seat beside me and gave us a warm smile. He stared at me happily a little longer than necessary. _

_"Whatever", I muttered looking away from his face. I tried to act nonchalant but I couldn't help but notice the small smile on my lips. From then on I couldn't keep my attention on the screen. The jokes were uninteresting to me and every laugh I made came out nervous and quirky. Leshawna noticed my shift in mood and kept giving me those looks that said "What got into you?"Shifting in my seat I tried to create more distance between me and him without seeming like a jerk but it wasn't working so eventually I just gave up. Then out of nowhere a large metal object came soaring into the room like a bolt of lightning. It was a blurred vision that crashed into the back of Trent's head creating a large __**crack**__. A loud scream followed the noise but I paid no attention to it. I was too focused on the immobile body on the floor. _

_Trent lay on the floor not even twitching from the collision. The side of his head had a long gash on the side of his head and thick blood was flowing from its edges. _

_"Trent!" I dropped to my knees and pulled his head onto my lap. His lips were parted and his eyes fluttered with pain. What was I going to do? _

"Gwen! Girl snap out of it!" Leshawna shook me snapping me out of my trance. My vision blurred then snapped back to its crystal clear normality. Leshawna looked at me with a worried expression like maybe I should be in a mental ward instead of a school.

"What's wrong with ya girl…wait were you havin' another vision?" Leshawna loosened her grip on my shoulder and stood back to better examine me.

"Yeah but it was nothing…come on let's get down stairs", I smiled hoping she would let the issue drop soon. Talking about my gift was a sore issue I never really liked to do. I was actually surprised that I found it in me to share it with Leshawna. Of course she did tell me hers first, earth, but still I normally shared nothing regarding my personal life with anyone. It never seemed to benefit me. I preferred to keep it to myself. I pushed Leshawna forward down the hall towards the TV down stairs.

When we had finally found a comfortable spot on the couch we began flipping through the channels and guess what we found. American pie. Go figure. I sat in my seat nervously going through an out of body experience of some kind. I was seeing everything for a second time and it just didn't feel as real. I laughed at the funny parts but couldn't really have as much fun as I wanted to. An aching feeling was starting to swell I my chance.

"Maybe this one was just a flop, they happen right?" I chewed over the possibility of a flop in my head. If something happened or the person in the vision changed their mind then the vision changed. "Trent probably won't even come down stairs".

"Hey I love this part", Trent came down the stairs in a clean white T and baggy flannels. He looked towards the screen where the girl was masturbating on the live web feed. "Hey guys, mind if I join you…hey Gwen", he looked down just noticing our presence with a smile. In the background I heard Leshawna say sure but I still wasn't paying attention. Trent took a seat beside me and gave me a long smile.

"Ok so he came down…but he's not wearing the same thing so that's a good thing", I reasoned with myself calming down. I obviously didn't have anything to worry about. Relaxing, I sank into the sofa's cushion ignoring the flashes of my vision wiggling itself back into my head. Laughter boomed in my ear at every joke made and yet I couldn't appreciate it like I should've.

"What's wrong with me…maybe it's the vision" my thoughts were interrupted when Trent brushed my arm. Goosebumps started to form along my forearm. I tried to keep my eyes glued to the TV but I couldn't pay full attention. This time it was for a different reason. It was like magnets pulling my eyes back to him. Those dreamy green eyes, thick black hair, and of course that gorgeous easy smile made my head swirl-

"-Whoa! Gwen what is with you? You don't even know this guy and already you got a puddle of drool at your feet", I snapped. I couldn't allow myself to lose control like that. I mean what was I some blonde air-head that gossips like an immature, predictable bitch? I don't think so! I had to get a hold of myself. But still that body…

And that's when I saw it. A blurry metal death trap come flying towards us. The target: Trent's head. Like a spring I leapt out of my seat and shoved him out of the way and onto the floor. Gravity wasn't on my side today and pulled me from the sofa's cushions as I shoved and onto Trent. The giant metal thing went whizzing over our heads and straight into the wall. Our bodies were perfectly aligned and still. I could feel color coming back to my face. A pink flush was sure to be on my cheeks in a matter of seconds.

"Ar-are you ok?" I stuttered over my words and caught my breath in my throat. My body seemed frozen in its place and the common sense to get up hadn't come to me yet.

"Um…yeah I'm good. I think I should be saying thank you though", he looked back at me calmly unaware of our position as well- or if he was this was his really perverted way of getting to know me better.

"Oh it was no issue really. I saw it coming anyway", my shyness was starting to fade away and I found the situation almost comfortable.

"Yeah you have really good…reflexes", a blush was starting to come onto his face. I heard a cough behind me and turned to see Leshawna looking down on us with a soft teasing smile. My position was finally beginning to dawn on me. I was laying down on some cute-on some guy chatting away as if we had just met on a park bench. My pale cheeks flushed pink and as quickly as I could I rolled off of the body under me.

"Um sorry bout that", I reached out my hand to help Trent up. He looked just as bashful as I did.

"Uh yeah it's ok", he mumbled. There was a smile lingering on his lips. Guess he was really embarrassed.

"OH NOOO! My flat iron!" that blonde girl came running into the room frantic. Her big blue eyes looked like they were about to cry. Her face was defeated.

"Damn girl was that you screamin'? Whitney aint got nothin' on your lungs", Leshawna looked in disbelief at the girl running towards us in full throttle. Her hair whipped behind us and a scream was waiting to be released again. She fell to the floor hovering over her scraps of metal.

"What's going on down here?"Courtney and Bridgette came running down the stairs with worried eyes. Was the scream really that loud? Man I must have been out of it. I shuffled my feet embarrassed by my oblivious episode. Behind them came a flood of people-I guess not everyone was asleep yet.

"I have no idea, Lindsey just threw an industrialized flat iron at us for some reason", I shrugged finally getting over my swooning feeling. Courtney and Bridgette came over to the couch where Lindsey was still on the verge of tears.

"This was my favorite iron! Now it's gonna take at least like a whole week for Daddy to send me a new one! Do you know how fast my hair frizzes? Especially in this weather, Ewe!" Lindsey began scooping up the fragments at her knees.

"Lindsey I think I could fix that for you", Cody squirmed through the thick wall of people to get to her. He looked over the wreckage with a hopeful grin. "Yeah I can definitely fix this no problem". He started lifting up pieces and clicking them together like they were legos. I stared in amazement absorbed in his progress.

"Lindsey what happened?" Courtney had finally reached us and looked taken aback by the damage done to the wall and Lindsey.

"Oh my God!- I like totally forgot about that. I was doing my hair when I saw this huge thing crawling on the floor and panicked. The only thing I had in my hand was a flat iron so I threw it. I don't even know what it is-"her eyes widened with fear-"Oh, it's still in there!". She was looking at the small mob of people like a helpless pup.

"You're kiddin' right", I walked over to the bathroom to see a small bug the size of a penny scittering across the floor. I lifted my foot with ease and stomped down hard on the tiled floor. The sound of tiny pattering legs ceased once my slipper came down. "There it's all gone", I turned back towards Lindsey who looked like she had just been saved from a man eating beast.

"You know, if you ever need help with those kinds of things I can help. All you gotta do is give me a call", Tyler popped up from behind Lindsey and winked at her reassuringly. She looked adoringly at him like a knight in shining armor. She probably thought he was the bravest person in the world. The two sat on the sofa absorbed in their own world.

"Thanks Gwen!" I looked at my reflection in the mirror and finished the conversation in Lindsey's place sarcastically. No one says thanks anymore.

"Nice, he didn't even show up until after the bug was killed", Courtney rolled her eyes at the cliché scene in front of us. They were now walking back upstairs hand in hand. Cody looked rejected on the floor still trying to get the pieces together. His eyes kept wandering back to the winding stairs.

"Guess his attempt to win her heart didn't work out as planned", Courtney looked at his shuffled form amused. I cracked a smile sharing the common thought.

"I guess not". We both headed over to Cody and helped him pick up the last of the pieces on the floor.

"Thank you ladies", Cody gave us a toothy grin and winked hard before heading back up the stairs with a slouch he thought was cool.

"Well he's not as broken hearted as we thought", I chuckled at the cheeky grins he was still trying to give us.

"Guess not", Leshawna came up behind us and mimicked my words.

"Well there goes our movie", I shrugged my way to the stairs and began my climb stopping when my fingers brushed another hand in the way. I looked up and met the emerald eyes of Trent smiling at me. He was blushing from the contact and looking extremely guilty. Before he could see my cheeks I ran up the stairs and into the safety of my room. I admired my hand for a short second before running to my bed and retrieving the small journal under my pillow.

Duncan's POV

_It was dark and I was traveling through a thick forest hoisted on a strong black stead. His long black hair was flowing into my face obstructing my view. His long legs were stretched out and running at maximum pace. There was a wild, fierce look gleaming in his eye. He was-like me- ready to fight. _

_"Faster Max, faster!" I yanked at the reins harder scurrying to reach my destination. My time was running out quicker than I had realized. My dark metallic armor clanked in protest and my bones ached against the increased speed. The twigs and snatching branches grabbed at my cloak behind me. Why did I even bring this thing? What good is a cloak?_

"_Ugh forget this, I swung my sword out of its sheath and gritted my teeth taking down anything in my path. It gleamed with pleasure as it sliced a path for. It sang with the near victory it was sure to bring me. For a good minute all I could hear was the rhythmic patting of hooves along the forest floor and the slashes of my jewel crusted weapon. A choking scent of smoke clogged all my senses forewarning me of the nearby doom_

"_So close", I breathed heavily through my metal mask. The smoke was beginning to block my eye sight. The sky above me blackened and looming gray clouds circled around the white towers of the castle. The gates of the palace were finally in sight and so was the beast guarding them. Max grew frantic at the sight of the beast flying in circles above us. A dragon. It's wings were a dark charcoal color and it's tough body was covered in deep green scales. It had long crystallized horns that circled in loops and its pearl fangs were barred in a threatening way. It had to be at least 20 feet high._

"_What do you want", I screamed to the giant above me. His dark eyes looked down on me expectantly. The dragon lifted its head and flew straight into the thick clouds ahead disappearing. _

"_That was weird", I turned over to Max not sure what to do next. I heard a scream from above and pressed forward breaking open the rusting gate. I had no time to waste on wandering what the hell that dragon thing was. I was on a mission. If it didn't want to fight then fine with me. It meant more time to celebrate my victory._

_I pushed my way through the ivy covering the ground like a carpet. Weeds were entangling themselves on my feet. The tower was crumbling and stones were on the verge of falling out. It had an ancient glow to it-a medieval glow. The door leading to the only room in the tower was large. It was made of a dark oak and had golden hinges. There were long cracks scattered among the wood panels. The door creaked open under a light touch to a white room. Unlike it's gloomy outside this room looked like heaven. The floor was a puffy white carpet material that wrapped around my feet. The walls were pure titanium white and had thousands of fluorescent lights glowing beneath its surface. The room was empty beside a small couch off to the side and a king sized bed. The white couch was made of puffs of clouds and the blanket covering it was made of light blue feathers. The large bed taking up nearly the whole entire room was carved bleached wood. There were cherubs intricately sculpted at the base "lifting" the bed up. Their wings were spread out and made the frame of the entire bed. Above the frame was a draping screen made of silk. A dark feminine figure was seen through the thin cloth. By the side of the bed was a white tiger patiently looking my way. It gave off a warning growl at my approach. _

_"Great a guard", I slowly made my approach and put my hands out in defense. I gave it a stern look hoping it would believe I wasn't looking for a fight. Satisfied with my intentions it nodded its head and laid back down indifferent. _

_"Is someone there?" a delicate voice came from behind the draped cloth drawing in my attention. A small tanned hand peeked through the opening followed by a long lean arm. The next thing to slither through the drape was a long slim leg. I already liked what I saw. _

_"Well hello beautiful", I muttered. The rest of her body followed through the curtain. She was wearing a white gown with a golden robe tied around her waist. The silky gown had two splits on either side of her legs that went all the way up to her thigh. The top of her gown was skin tight and held up by golden straps. Her neck line plunged down to the top of her stomach. Her face was covered in shadow by a white hood. The only thing I could see on her face where her full soft pink lips curved up into a smile. Man she was hot. I was glad I made the trip over here. She was worth it. _

_"Who are you?" she uncovered her head and let her face be seen. She had a small pointed nose and wide black eyes that looked so familiar to me. In fact I knew I had seen them before. But where…_

_"Courtney?" I stepped back surprised by the girl in front of me. _

_"That's Princess Courtney to you! And you still haven't answered my question", she put her hands on her hips and looked at me like I was crazy. _

_"Damn, would you chill…You don't know who I am?" I threw up my hands in defense. _

_"No, why on earth would I know you. And who sent you? My father?"_

_"Yeah __**you're**__ father. The king wanted me to come rescue you" I crossed my arms. You'd think she'd be a little grateful._

_"Well you can just go and tell my father to stop sending knights. I __**don't **__need anyone to rescue me. I'm just fine", she stomped away from me and looked out the window. The tiger kneeling at the bed got up and followed her. _

_"Sorry not gonna happen Courtney, if I don't bring you back then I get hunted down and punished again. So let's get going" I stepped forward ready to carry her out if need be. The tiger by her side stood defensively in front of her. She gave me a smug look. _

_"That's not my problem, and it's __**Princess**__ Courtney!" her cheeks started to turn red. _

_"Whatever __**princess**__" I mimicked her words with sarcasm. This was seriously starting to piss me off. "And it is your problem, because whether you like it or not you're coming with me". I stepped forward ignoring the white tiger at her side. It wasn't threatening me but it was giving me that "hurt her and you die" look so it was going to do anything to me._

_"No I'm not and you can't make me!" she stomped her feet furiously. She stood defensively and sneered ready for a fight._

_"Listen __**princess**__, the only reason why I'm even here is cuz your father's guards finally caught up with me. So it's either get you or get thrown back in the dungeon, and I'm tired of breaking out. So when I say you have no choice, I __**mean**__ you have no choice", I glared back at her. _

_"I don't care", she turned her back on me and looked back out the window. _

_"I don't care either, you're gonna come with me" I stepped over the cat and hoisted princess over my shoulder. Her arms started to turn a dark blue color. Great another complication. _

_"Put me down now! Who do you think you are you pig!" she began pounding on my back. _

_"Damn princess let up", her icy fist felt like led against my back. I threw her down on her couch and began massaging my bruised shoulders. Damn she could hit. _

_"This isn't worth it, throw me in the dungeon until I die. Anything but this", I groaned "Why don't you wanna go home anyway? Stuck up princess like you probably would get a kick out of bossin' servants around". _

_"Shut up! I have my reasons thank you very much and I am not stuck up!...Or bossy!"She crossed her ankles and looked away. The corners of her eyes were glistening with moisture. _

_"Sure, what was I thinking you're probably the hit at every party", I rolled my eyes trying to ignore the tear dropping from her eye. My resistance didn't work. Sighing I walked down beside her "Don't cry". I awkwardly patted her back. She stiffened. _

_"I'm not crying! I just have something in my eye" she denied my claim and slide further away from me. She wouldn't let me see her face. _

_"Ok fine, you're not crying. But you didn't answer my question" I pointed out letting the crying thing drop. If she didn't want to talk about it fine. This just seemed like one of those moments where pestering wasn't smart._

_"You didn't answer my question, why should I answer your's?"she looked back at me with a small smile. The tears had stopped flowing. _

_"Ok fine, the names Duncan. Now it's your turn to answer"_

_"Fine", she sighed and turned back to me. I was surprised, I hadn't expected her to open up so quick. I was sure that she wasn't going to let out a word without another fight- for some reason I kinda liked that. _

_"You don't know what it's like living there. It's like I'm stuck doing everything for everyone else. I can't do anything that I want to do. It's like a prison", her voice became a whisper and she hung her head "getting kidnapped was the best thing that's ever happened to me". _

_"Wow that's deep", I thought. Who would think that she would be yearning to get out of a place most people were dying to get in. If it were me I would have loved it. Sleeping on mountains of gold, eating a feast fit for royalty every night and the best part of all; servants that would bend at my will. It sounded like heaven, especially to someone like her. I would think she would live for the moments to boss people around and one day rule an entire nation. _

_"It must have been Hell", I turned towards her. To say getting kidnapped and held hostage against you're will was great was definitely saying something. _

_"Yes it was. Which is why I don't want to go back. So if you are going to insist that I leave then I have to warn you I will not give up without a fight", she stood up and produced two sharp icicles from her hands. _

_I looked back and forth from her fierce scowl to the white tiger by her side. I sighed and lit my hands on fire just in case she was the first to strike. I didn't want to hurt her (I may be tough but I don't hit girls) but I wasn't going to be vulnerable. She took this as a sign to fight and charged throwing an icicle ahead of her. I dodged it with ease and slammed her back on the couch. She began struggling under my touch. _

_"Look I don't want to hurt you so calm down"-she still wasn't listening-"would you hear me out and stop kicking me! I'm not going to take you!" _

_"Damn right you aren-what?" she stopped struggling and looked back at me confused. _

_"I won't take you ok" I loosened my grip and allowed her to sit up. _

_"But why?"_

_"What, no thank you princess?" She blushed._

_"Thank you" she slid across the cushions towards me "It's very nice of you to help me". Her body slid closer to mine. The heat of her body prickled my skin. Usually I would've been outraged by her associating __**me**__ with nice but I couldn't think straight. Her lips were closing in on mine. _

_"What are you doing?" I asked. Our faces were just inches apart now. _

_"It's your dream. I'm doing what you want", she sat back creating space between us. She was looking at me like I was stupid. _

_"My dream? What are you talking about?" I looked around confused. The walls were starting to melt together and the colors became fuzzy. _

_"Well of course. This is all __**your**__ dream, why do you think I'm here? Oh and by the way, it's 6:30. Wake up!" she stared at me with a smile turning into a blur with the rest of the room. _

"Wake up!" Courtney's voice rang in my ears jolting me awake. Sun was streaking through my windows and spitting in my eyes. What the fuck just happened?

**Wanted to put in some G&T in their cuz i love that couple too. Well really it's mostly cuz i love Gwen (and btw i dont like how she's seen as a "bad guy" on tda- Courtney too) but anyways. i hope you guys like it. please review!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Befpre I get started I just wanted to say that the reason it took me so long to update because I had to go back and change a few things in the story. I just had a few ideas that I got along the way and wanted to try them out. Just think they make the story better. So ya'll might wanna go back and check it out. But anyways thanks for being patient and here's the next chapter. :)**

Courtney

I looked at my bare white walls with disinterest. There's was no personal touch to them, nothing that made them scream Courtney. No awards, no pictures, nothing. They were just there. I wanted people to know who was staying here. Grunting I rolled off my bed and headed towards my unpacked bag. I never got to finish my unpacking due to an ignorant person aggravating me on my first day and that set me way off schedule. So now two weeks later I wasn't even finished with properly unpacking. I hefted my bag unto my bed and unzipped it revealing pictures and terribly stuffed in shoes. I neatly unloaded everything in the bag and separated them into special piles. The shoes I quickly I lined in the closet I shared with Bridgette. It was a good thing she didn't bring that many shoes with her because mine nearly took up all the floor space the closet had to offer. It was like we were made to be room mates. I brought like ten pairs of shoes (it was more than that but at the risk at sounding like a shoe fanatic I won't say the actual number) and she only brought three. None of us brought makeup since we both preferred the natural look-really putting all that make up on was unnecessary, so we didn't fight over the dresser space. The same went for the mirror occupation. I went to shower early in the morning and she woke up after me. Honestly I couldn't have been happier.

After my shoes were put away all I had to take care of were the pictures I brought. They were pictures of friends back home, pictures of the teams I had participated on and finally pictures of my family. Instead of littering my wall with photos I decided to spread out and put some on my night stand and the dresser that was now bare. I was sure Bridgette wouldn't mind it as long as I kept to my side. Besides I liked the idea that a piece of me was present everywhere in the room. It made it partly mine. On the window wall I put up the framed pictures that the kids made me before I left. I almost cried that day.

_I went to the preschool to say my last good byes to all the kids and the teachers. Their preschools started a month earlier than the other kids in my home town so I was still able to say goodbye to them before I left. _

"_Hey Mary", I walked up to the school's secretary in the office. After coming for so long she had insisted that I call her by her first name even though it went against everything I believed. She was sitting at an old metal desk with the words, 'Little oak preschool' engraved in the front. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun with pencil sticking out the back. She looked up from her notebook with a smile. _

"_Hey darling, how are you doing today", she asked putting down her pen. _

"_I'm good and you", I starting taking off my coat and signing in the visitor's page. Even though I was a regular it was still regulation that I sign in everyday. _

"_Excellent. But darling why are you here today? Didn't your school already end the year?" she asked. I smiled at her. I would be curious too if the person I had already said bye to for the year came back not only two months later. I would be just as curious. _

"_Well unfortunately, I came to say goodbye for good this time. I previously got a letter of acceptance into a college that starts up in a few days so I won't be back for this year…I just wanted to say goodbye to everyone", I told her solemnly. I was going to miss this place so much now that I thought about it. _

"_Oh well I always knew you would do well", she patted my hand. "We are going to miss you here though". She hugged me before calling the teacher to warn her I was coming. I said my final goodbyes to Mary and headed off for my kids room. They were still too young to go to kindergarten so they were all kept in the same class room. What a relief that I didn't have to do any searching. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I didn't say goodbye before I left. _

_I turned into my old room and knocked on the door frame. _

"_Hello?" I called into the room and met the many excited eyes of my kids. "Miss Courtney!" they all screamed and ran over to me hugging my legs and jumping in circles around me. I began to laugh with them. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought. _

"_Miss Courtney, we thought you weren't coming back until Septmemur", Jessica stumbled over the word but gave me a toothless grin regardless. This was definitely going to be a lot harder. _

"_Well that's why I came guys. I won't be coming back this year because I'm going to a very special school", I looked over their sad faces. Some were even on the verge of crying. "But why" was screamed back me. I made my way over to the story time chair and made them all circle around me on the floor. Mrs. Gardens even looked sadly back at me. _

"_I'm sorry guys. But this new school is really far away", I began. "I won't be able to see you guys from where I'll be. So I want to spend another day with you guys before I leave", I looked back up to the teacher, "Is that ok?" When she nodded I turned back to the kids. "Is that ok with you?" They all mumbled yes a little happier now. The rest of the day the teacher gave us the children a choice day where they got to pick what they wanted to do. In the end we spent nearly the entire day coloring pictures and making goodbye cards for me. When I got ready to leave and they were all put to sleep at naptime I left with arms full of portraits of me with me and the kids. _

I sighed and looked at the pictures I choose to take with me. If I could I would love to fill the entire wall with the cards I had gotten that day but four was probably pushing it. The ones I took with me were from my favorite students. And I know that it's bad to choose favorites but I couldn't help it. One was a picture from Jessica of me and her holding hands. Her curly bouncing hair was scribbled high and my pin straight hair was only two lines. Of all the kids she had to be the best at drawing. Even though she wasn't a Picasso yet she still had talent kids of her age didn't have yet. John's picture was right next hers. It was of me in front of a school and a paper in my hand that he said was my "dippoma". Above that was another picture from Jessica again of me and her except this time she was giving me a flower made of jelly beans. I laughed at the thought of that. The very last picture was from my favorite student of them all. Henry and I didn't get along at first in fact he down right hated me. I didn't particularly like him either but I was determined with him. At first we got into a lot of arguments-me telling him to take a nap and him yelling back no. I would try to get him to play along with the other kids but he would just stick out his tongue and push another kid off the swings. Time passed and finally he started getting used to me and vice versa. Soon he was the first kid to rush up to me and give me a hug when I came in to help. Man I loved that kid.

The three photos of my family I put over my bed. One of them was at my last soccer game of the previous game. My team was ahead a point because of the goal I had just made a point and called a timeout. During that timeout Paulina came over to congratulate me and raised me in the air giving me a hug. A friend of hers had captured the moment perfectly. The second picture was another one of Paulina and I at a party she managed to drag me too. The only reason I agreed to even go was because she wanted me there to celebrate her softball team's victory. It wasn't a crazy party like I had expected though instead we all just went out to roller skate. The whole time I spent it glued to Paulina's side-which none of her friends minded since I knew them all- I had great time. Halfway through the party I was the only one who hadn't fallen until Paulina grabbed my shirt and yanked me down. It was at that moment that her friend chose to take a picture of us in all our laughing glory.

The last picture in the middle had to be my favorite. It was of my mother, me and Paulina when I was just a girl. It was when we still worked on the garden without any hired hands. I was kneeling in the dirt beside my mother trying to get a tomato to stay on the vine. My mother was kneeling above me smiling at me gently trying to give me advice. Her face was so angelic and calm, I always felt so peaceful looking at that picture. In the very background Paulina was throwing her hand shovel at a patch of weeds she could get out of the ground.

I smiled at the picture leaning back on something else on my bed. I turned around to find one last picture still on my bed-the only one without a frame. It was a picture of me at age four I was huddled in my father's arms looking up at him with curious eyes. He was in the middle of telling me a bed time story. I was into the story-one of my favorites, beauty and the beast-that I refused to go to bed. I heard the story a thousand times but I loved the story so much that I wouldn't close my eyes until I heard that Belle had gone back to the beast and brought him back to life. I began to smile until the other memories of that man came back to me.

"Why did I even bring this thing", I crumpled up the picture and walked over to the small waste basket in the corner of the room. I stood over it looking at the loosely crumpled picture in my hand. The urge to throw it away was so great but my hand just wouldn't drop it. My body was frozen in place. Why couldn't I throw away this crappy little picture? I didn't even like him, so why was this so hard for me? I looked back down at the picture once more before finally giving in and taking it back to my bed with me. As much as he aggravated me I couldn't just throw away the picture. I sighed and unraveled the little picture and put it under my pillow. If I couldn't throw it away then I could at least keep it away from my sight.

I heard a soft knock on my door. "Hey Courtney?" Gwen's voice came from the other side of the door. I already knew what she was here for. Leshawna, Bridgette, her and I were supposed to be heading off to lunch together and meet up with Nicole and Rose. It became a thing for us to sit together now. After history I decided to go to my room for a short nap and asked someone to get me before they all headed down stairs. Once I got up here though I threw the whole idea of getting any kind of sleep away once I looked at my walls

"Hey Gwen, thanks for getting me I was losing track of time up here", I smiled at her and grabbed my bag. I think one of the most surprising things that has happened since I came here was that I became such good friends with Gwen. We weren't particularly the best of friends but we still got along just fine. Sure we had different points of views on a lot of things but she stuck to them and wasn't afraid to tell her opinion. I had to respect that about her. So we got along fine despise our differences.

"No problem", she shrugged and followed me back down to the living room where the girls were waiting. We all headed out to the cafeteria and found a table closest to the back of the cafeteria where we could see the fields outside through the floor length windows. Nicole and Rose soon caught up with us talking excitedly about something. Well I should say that it was Nicole who was the only one talking. Rose was just looking away rolling her eyes.

"I'm just saying a classic car is so much better", Nicole said as she put her tray down. So that's why Rose was looking like she was about to kill herself. Nicole had a tendency to rant about cars more than an ordinary girl should. She was such a franatic about cars-every guy's dream-just because she worked on car's at her uncles garage. Everyone else began rolling their eyes even Gwen who was tighter to the skater girl than the rest of us. I decided to save them from her drabbling.

"Really I think the 2009 models are cool", I said redirecting her attention from Rose. Rose gave me a grateful look. The rest of the lunch time I spent it talking with Nicole over which were the best models. I didn't mind it as much as the others because I was used to it. Before my father left he always brought me to his job with him. He was a salesman for the more expensive cars and very successful. Bringing me along also made him look good so I went **a lot**. Eventually being around all those cars and catalogs made me pick up on a few things.

"Are you two done talking about cars now, cuz the bell kinda just rang. You can stay here if ya want but this girl is leaving", Leshawna pointed to the near empty room around us.

"Yes I'm coming", I got up from the table and followed her and Rose to our next class. Besides the first day when our teacher was extremely late Professor Nuland was the most punctual of all our teachers. So our class flew by with no inetrruptions. Most of the class we just talked about waters healing properties and how limited it was. It wqas mostly a continuation of everything that was said yesterday. We still had a weeks left on water before we rreached it's opposite fire. Which was only a free excuse for a certain deliquent to set fire to everything. I wasn't looking forward to it all. After the lecture the class was dismissed and sent off to the dreaded class of gym. Out of all my classes I had to say gym was the only one I hated even english where I had to sit infront of that insufferable pig (who doubled his efforts to get on my nerves ever since that dodgeball game) was ok compared to this class. Last week Chris and Master Chef made us play dodgeball **everyday** because our perfomance last time was golden entertainment. They even doubled the punishment so we wouldn't slack. What jerks! I swear if I ever the words dodgeball I'll puke.

I walked in the revolting building preparing myself for the slaughter on my feet.

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Duncan

Our whole class was waiting for our gym teacher to sow up and tell us what stupid thing they wanted us to do today. Personally I could care less what it was that we did, I loved the game of dodgeball. And having the opportunity to throw deadly rubber balls at random people all week was a pretty good deal. It was like a free excuse to beat people that annoyed me up. The only down side to it was that the teams never changed from that day so I couldn't get all the people I wanted to. Like Harold for example. Ever since I had first saw him I had a strange urge to just throw one right at his face. I managed to send one his way by 'accident' but it didnt look as innocent as I wanted it to be. I'm sure more than one person noticed it on both teams especially Chris who broke down in laughter after seeing it. Plus another good thing about dodgeball was I got to see other people's aggresive sides. How they did in a tight situation and honestly I wasn't impressed. The only one that continually surprised me through out the game was Princess. Every game that we played she seemed to get even more aggresive. Her plans were genius of course but brutal all the same. Everytime she would get tagged and I would think she was done and out for the count she popped back up and refused to let anyone look at her bruises.

"Good afternnon students!" Chris came through the wide doors that led outside on a golf cart moving very slowly. Chef was only seconds behind him huffing in and out as he jogged at a steady beat. His face was contorted in a sneer that I've become oh so familiar with. I honestly don't even think he can make another face besides the angry one he always shoots at us. There a low mumble of heys throughout our crowd. Even Geoff who was always so cheery was looking nervously at the gym instructors. He was probably hoping like the rest of the class that this week they would spare us the torment of dodgeball again.

"Some people just don't appreciate the art of a good sport", I sarcastically said shaking my head with fake disappointment.

"Whatever. I proudly hate the sport", Trent said beside me, leaning back in the bleachers trying to unsuccessgfully relax. It was a lost cause to even try on these hard things. They like jagged rocks piercing your back and ass. I have no idea how I ever fell asleep on them that first day. I must have been pretty damn tired to get that kind of sleep.

"Ok today you'll be glad to know that we won't be playing dodgeball", Chris hollered through a grey megaphone latched unto the side of the cart. Which was stupid since we were only a few feet away from him. A loud cheer erupted from everyone except me. People were hugging people and clamping each other on the back and Dj had a tear of joy roll down his face.

"Instead we are going to have a 10 mile race!" Chris excitedly continued wearing an evil smile. The cheering stopped and the room fell silent. The idea of wearing themselves out even more than usual was depressing and I could swear that out of the corner of my eye I could see Owen tear up. Poor guy didn't stand a chance unless they put some kind of buffet at the finish line. Even with that his chances were still slim. I got up from my bench and began stretching. Ten miles didn't sound so bad now that I thought about it. I had done worse when I was on the run after busting out of juvie.

"And as always the last person will owe us an extra twenty laps next game. The winner will have a little treat. No matter if you lose for the next week you won't have to do any laps before or after class", Chris said heading back out the door on his cart.

"Oh sweet!" Geoff jumped in the air whipping off his hat. Excited murmers were sent through the crowd. A whole week with no extra laps! I was in heaven just thinking about it.

Chef lined us all up outside where Chris was already waiting. Chris gave us directions on where to go and how to get back. It was pretty forward all we needed to do was circle the entire school grounds twice and we were done. Not that bad really. From up in the plane it looked pretty easy but that was miles from above and the people weren't even visible so I could be wrong.

The whistle blew and we were all off. At first we were all doing pretty good. We started as a glob of students each turning at the same time as the others. Even Owen was keeping up with us but not for long. Minutes passed and people began to wheeze and puff on the side walk slowing down. Owen was the first to slow down to just a hunched over walk and then Heather who complained pretty people didn't need to run. Lindsey, Joanna and Beth stayed back with her and shrugged off the race for a chance to hang with their leader. Next was Leshawna who began holding her sides and crying for mercy. After that people were dropping like flies until it was only me, Dj, Geoff, Bridgette, and Courtney left. We were the only remnants of our once powerful group of runners. It was much easier than I thought making the first lap, I had yet to break a sweat.

After we reached the halfway mark Bridgette began falling behind eventually tripping over a tree root and taking Dj down with her. The two became a pile of brown skin and blonde hair. Geoff looked over his shoulder at his girl still laying on the ground biting his lip. His eyes were unsure on whether he should keep running for the prize or go back and help her out. His concern for her won out in the end of his mental and he ended up turning around to help her out. Not to be vicious towards her cuz she was cool and everything but I just didn't care enough to actually back down now. It was only me and Courtney now and the win was a sure thing. Besides the arms she wanted to be around her were Geoff's not mine. I was in the clear. Courtney was still running too after making sure her friend was ok. She thought about stopping like Geoff did but one quick reassuring smile put her right back on her path. She didn't have to be told twice to move and was easily able to slip back into her steady rhythm.

She jogged beside me confidently. Like me she wore a calm face with not a drop of sweat on her face. Her stides were perfectly even and her balance perfect. She was good I had to admit it and she knew what she was doing. My guess was that was thanks to some kind of sport like track or softball. But even with that she was still even abnormally good. I could see the two mile mark ahead of me and smiled this was the part where I sped up and whipped acorss the finish line leaving everyone else in the dust. I picked up my pace and sent a fake apologetic smirk behind me. A smile broke out on her face as she too sped up easily passing me. A drop of sweat finally began rolling down my neck. I underestimated her before. She wasn't good, she was better than that.

"But not better than me", I muttered under my breath speeding up again. There was no way I would let her win this. That prize was mine!

"Ha! We'll see", she sped up again making her strides even longer. She took out a band from her shirt pocket-still keeping pace with me- and wrapping her hair into a pony tail revealing her slim neck. She also slipped off her long sleeved polo showing off her sleevless white button up that went under it. She lost a few steps on me when she was trying to tie the polo around her waist but quickly regained it. I was taken off gaurd by her body that I lost my footing stumbling a bit. I hadn't even realized how hot she was before or how big her chest was. But damn she had a body. She snickered at my stumble and used that to her advantage by slipping in front of me.

"Alright two can play at that game", I thought to myself evily while yanking off my own long sleeve. I wasn't completely bare chested but I minus well have been since all I had was a light wife beater that was so worn it was pratically see through. I quickened up my pace and smiled smugly at her shocked expression. Her jaw dropped at the sight of my muscles and she slowed her pace. Leaving me in the lead.

"Ha see at the finish line Princess", I called over my shoulder as another mile was taken down. One mile was easy to take on now that I had no competition. All I had to do was keep up the pace. What an easy win, and I didn't even have to run my fastest! I could get used to gym classes like these.

"I don't think so!" Courtney came running past me like a blur. Damn I really did underestimate her. She kept running ahead of me leaping over branches and fallen trees like a professional. I couldn't have that so I moved at my fastest pace catching up with her. Both of us were covered with glistening sweat that even the wind didn't have time to dry off. The run was exhilarating. The wind combed back my hair and whipped across my face. I let my head fall back and take in the sun beating above us. This reminded me so much of when I was on the run for my first time. I was so relieved that I managed to escape that the run felt more like a freedom jog. I was so glad to be free that I didn't even mind the searing pain that was numbing my legs. I looked over at Courtney who had just as big of a smile on her lips. The finish line was only a few away from us now with Chris and Chef waiting but I no longer cared. I didn't even care if I won anymore I was just happy to be running again. This was something I was going to have to do more often by myself. I flew past the chalked line taking a few more steps to slow down. Courtney was already slowing down ahead of me so guess that meant she won. Oh well.

I hunched over and slowed down my heart rate that was frantically pumping like crazy. A few feet away from me Courtney was already sitting on the ground a huge smile was plastered on her face. She looked like she was at such peace...it was such a different side that I wasn't used to seeing. "Beautiful", I whispered under breath. The sun was shining on her face and the wind tosseled her hair around her face. Looking at her happy apearance almost made me smile.

"Woah...woah.........woah", I caught myself. What was I thinking. Beautiful, peaceful, what the hell was I thinking. This was Courtney after all. The rules she was determined to follow I broke without a second. She lived her life by the book as an annoying prep. I wrote my own book. The very thought of that would make her puke. What was I thinking? I looked back her way one more time sneering when I felt that same peaceful feeling creep into my body when I saw her smile. Damn run was making me go crazy.

"And Courtney is our winner!" Chris' voice snapped me back to reality. I forgot about them. There wasn't much of a celebration for her since there was only us four here- the others were further behind than I thought. Chris was the only one with a smile beside Courtney who slipped back on her shirt and turned back on her proper manners. Chef just didn't cheer and me, I was still pissed about what I thought earlier. The others just passed it off as bad sportmanship which was fine with me cuz I'd rather them think that then know what was actually going.

What makes it even worse was that when she came to sit on the bleachers with me I couldn't help but smile again. Stupid mouth was on the fritz. She leaned back against the bleachers with her hair back down. There was still a faint blush in her cheeks. The silence between us increased until finally I said something. I wasn't going to let her get to me like this. If anything I would just act like none of this even happened.

"So you run track or something, Princess", I grimaced at the word princess. After that short moment of faltering words like that held to much weight. Especially with how I had gotten that one. But my feeling for that word changed when I saw her face scrunch up in anger. Out of all the nick names I gave her princess always guaranteed a cross word. Ever since the word slipped from my lips the morning after that dream she was quick with a response. I didn't even mean to bring up the word. In fact I thought that she would see right through it and automatically know why I was using it but she never caught on. Instead she got pissed instantly getting blue hands.

"I told you my name is Courtney not _princess_", her hands were starting to turn a light shade of blue again. But not as quick as before so that meant she was already getting used to it like the other names. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Just answer the question", I leaned back getting annoyed again. How could I think that about her. She's already starting to annoy me.

"Yeah. Track, soccer and volleyball", she looked away rolling her eyes. The silence was starting to get awkward again. It was just me and her in this big old gym. Chef and Chris were waiting outside for the others to cross the finish the race like we had but still there was no one to be seen. How far ahead were we. I looked at her arms partly covered by her rolled up sleeves. Now that the polo was on I couldn't really see her body but it was still fresh in my mind from before. Her arms had been more slim than toned but you could still see the muscle in it. It was still hard to believe that she had done all those sports. The track thing I understood since there was no other way she would've been able to outrun me. I looked at her body again tracing along her body. The image of her running with a free smile crossed my mind again. Damn it! Not again. I looked around frantically. I had to get out here. I couldn't be in a room alone with her anymore it was messing with my mind. Making me think lopsided.

"Duncan dude!" Geoff came into the room panting behind Bridgette answering my plea. I relaxed back into my seat and fixed my face to show no emotions again. Finally other people were here to accompany me. Now I wouldn't have to deal with unwanted thoughts creeping their way back into my head. The four of us waited for the rest of the class to come in and surprise, surprise Owen was the last to drag himself through the door with the support of four other guys that had to be sent back out to get him. I tried to hold back a chuckle when he came crawling back to the gym nearly unconscious. Poor guy didn't stand a chance from the get go.

**So that's it for this chapter. Bout time that I finished it but thanks again for being patient with me. Hope you all liked it and thanks for the reviews. Means alot that you guys like my story! thanks again and please review! pce!**


	9. Chapter 9

September

(Courtney)

"Man you can run", Bridgette slumped into the gym a few paces in front of Geoff. Her cheeks were flushed but unlike me she didn't have one drop of sweat on her. Her hair was tightly wound up in a bun and she had ditched her sweater to wear just a loose tank top-which I'm pretty sure made Geoff drool a bit.

"I know you run track and all but I never thought you were that fast…did you win?" She came over to the bleachers and sat in the row between Duncan and I. Geoff followed her example and sat next to her.

"Huh…oh yeah I forgot about it for a second but I did", I slumped back into the hard surface of the bleachers relaxing now that it wasn't just the delinquent and I. The tension growing made the huge gym feel like it was a stuffy closet running out of oxygen. It was an awkward silence that was too uncomfortable for me. The conversation was obviously pushed on both parts and of course there was that little nickname. Princess. The moment that name passed from his lips that care free feeling I had slipped away. There was something about that sickly sweet name that pulled the rug from under feet. Why that name annoyed me more than all the others was beyond me but I hated it. Maybe it was just because it was him who was using it. But the way he said it just a few minutes ago was off. In fact the way that he was talking over all sounded different. Like he was struggling with something. Whatever it was though it was weird and honestly I wouldn't want to be caught in a room alone with him again.

"You forgot that you won? How fast were you running?" Bridgette looked back at me skeptically. She was right to be a little curious though. I was never one to overlook a win; I was brought up better than that.

"Uh yeah the run…by the way sorry about leaving you behind", I switched the topic off of myself before she could see what was really up. "But I thought you might want some alone time with your blonde hero".

A few minutes passed and we drifted over to the other boys now that Dj, Gwen and Trent had arrived. I didn't want to be anywhere near a certain someone but I knew Bridge was itching to get back to Geoff's side.

(Duncan)

The guys just had to pick a table so close to the girls. I would've just gone to my room without anything to eat but gym had taken so much out of me that the chance to eat was just too tempting. And I couldn't go and sit by myself. I didn't mind the lonliness but it would bring up a lot of questions from nosy people I was in no mood to deal with right now. So now I was stuck at a table only a few steps away from Princess and her gang with a perfect view. So every time I looked up from my food guess who I saw. Those eyes of hers would look up only once in a while to find me staring. She would glare and I would glare back all the while my stomach would twist and flip. What was with this girl that she got in my head so easily? I turned back to my food with no interest. The memory of her laughter echoed in my ears.

"Hey you cool?" Trent nudged me from my daydream. The food on my plate was still untouched. So much for me being hungry.

"Yeah man you haven't touched your food", Dj looked at my plate with watery lips. His own plate was already cleaned.

"Yeah I'm straight", I grabbed the biscuit from my plate and took a huge bite. The clump of bread ran down my throat uneasy. I couldn't even taste the the butter slathered unto it.

"You know what you need. You need a good ol' party courtesy of my big bro. Mat", Geoff said in hopes of cheering me up. "A good ol' party" was always the answer with him...but maybe he was right. I could do with a little fun right now.

"Another party?" Trent asked in disbelief. Only the other night Geoff had slipped out the house to a bash his brother was hosting. Two in one week. That was a record.

"Yeah he's doing a party-a-thon this whole week to celebrate his paper he got an A on", Geoff laughed at the table of guys looking back at him with questioning eyes. How could Matt-a person who believed in sleeping in til noon and partying til 11am the next day- get an A on a paper? This school must have been easier than I thought.

"What? He believes in homework first", Geoff said oblivious. We all laughed and left towards Matt's "sickest party yet" (as geoff promised).

The party was sick I had to admitt. (Now there's a little fact that should be told about Matt. In the beginning of the year with the help of a few friends he was granted an apartment on campus that he shared with three other guys. This apartment isn't that big but it could still hold around 40 people if you really tried which still garuntees a good time. There are more poeple then that of course but I stopped counting. His apartment is also built like the class houses that we have so the walls are **very** sound proof. A fact he knows all too well). The moment we stepped through the door we were greeted by his drunken brother who was wearing a crash helmet and a bra.

"Geooooffff! Bro! You came and brought your friends", He said through half-closed lips. He surprisingly didn't sound that drunk but from his glazed expression I knew better. A girl was giggling on his side- pretty cute too.

"Hey this is Melonie by the way", Matt pointed to the girl lazily before throwing her my way and dancing back into the crowd of sweating bodies. Melonie was just as drunk-maybe even more- and didnt even know that she was in the arms of another man.

"Matt! I wanna dance-come on!" melonie grabbed my shirt and pulled me towards the crowd shoving a red cup in my face. Behind me I could hear the guys rooting for me. I should've been happy for myself even though this girl didn't even know my name but I couldn't shake the feeling that was stabbing at me before.

"What is the matter with you!" I angrily shook my head and snatched the cup bringing it to my lips. There was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity just because I couldn't get a face out of my head. I grabbed a few more girls and started a line of my own throwing back even more cups. I was going to forget about this one way or another. Everytime her face came up I took a swig of beer. Everytime I heard her laugh I took a shot of gin. Soon I was so far gone that I could barely see in front of me. The last thing I remembered was seeing Geoff's face before everything went black.

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(Geoff's POV)

"Come on, on the count of three", I bent over at Duncan's body on the ground and grabbed at his ankle. Only three hours at the party and already I had to leave. This sucks! One moment Duncan was being whisked away by this pretty girl and the next he was laying on the floor with his shirt over his head singing some kind of sappy love song. If I wasn't so upset that I had to leave my beer pong game-that I was succesfully winning- I wouldv'e stopped to take a really good laugh at the picture and hopefully record it. Thankfully Dj said he got a couple shots before we picked him up that would seriously do me some good. D was my bud though and if I was drunk passed my mind I would hope he would drag me back home too.

"Got cha", Trent shrugged Duncan's arms up and pulled him off the ground. Woah he's heavier then I thought he would be, and it didn't help that he was a fighting/ revealing drunk. You know the kind that spill their guts bout their life while kicking you in the ass. Yeah that was totally him right now. One out of the two I could deal with but both of them. Man! What a workout on the brain.

"Hey Deej get the others and tell em wats up dude", I yelled over my shoulder at dj who was looking real scared for Duncan. I wasn't though. If only I could count how many times I ended up dragging drunks back homes or how many times I blacked out at a party to wake up the next day in my bed. Ahhhh good times.

"Geoff! You're slackin' man-wake up!" Trent snapped me back to reality from my memories. I had nearly dropped Duncan's legs on the floor.

"Yeah man. My bad", I picked him up again and headed for the door trying to ignore the calls to come back to the party. Man why did Duncan have to black out when the party was getting so sweet!

"Hey open up the door, my hands are tied", Trent came to a stop at the closed front door. His own eyes were pretty glazed and I could tell it was hard to hold the big guy up. I puffed up my chest and blew out a gust of wind slamming the door open. Sometimes I really had to thank my gift. It sure did come in handy. We huffed across the school grounds towards our house where the lights were off. Dj was only a few steps behind us now making sure Duncan's head never met the ground. Soon we were back in his room slowly making our way over to the bed.

"Alright slowly now", Dj said as he lowered Duncan's top half onto his bed. Halfway through the living room Trent finally called it quits and let Dj take over. The poor guy could barely even stand up let only carry someone. I shook my head and waited until Dj put his head down to place his feet on the bed. The moment his body met the sheet's Duncan was fully out. All the struggling and mumbling he did only a few seconds ago stopped. And not a minute too soon. It was really starting to crease me.

"Come on", Trent whispered over his shoulders and we all tip-toed out so we wouldn't wake him up and have to hear a bunch of crappy songs again. We all went for my room and collapsed on any surface available. Man that dude can wear a guy out.

"I think I my legs are numb", Trent complained grabbing his legs and stretching them out on the ground.

"Totally bro I might have a black out of my own", I said letting my head hit my pillow. My head was starting to buzz a little.

"How did he crash so fast?" Dj asked slipping into his own bed. He looked back at us for answers. He wasn't nearly as gone as the rest of us.

"He had a new cup in his hand everytime I saw him" Trent said lifting his head back up "said he was trying to forget someone everytime I asked. But it was slurred so I could've heard wrong".

"Wait a minute. I think I know", I tried to search through the night for everything that happened. My memory was pretty groggy so if I didn't catch it now it would lost news forever. Alcohol can be such a bitch sometimes.

(Flash back)

_Ducan's shirt was grabbed and his body pulled away from us by some cute chick named Melinda-or was it Melissa...anyway after he left us and we cheered for him we all went our seperate ways. I drifted towards a few drinking parties I saw when I first came in and the others-well I can't remember what happened to them. I played quarters a few times before heading over to the dance floor where Trent and Duncan were. Trent just talking to some group about something and Duncan was pulling another girl into his line. He looked a little dissapointed at the girl and then took a swig. I laughed for no reason and left. The next time I saw him he was lying on the couch looking reallly drunk, and depressed. That was when I decided to see what was up. When I got over to where he was sitting there was already some girl there with a pouting face. (Duncan had already gotten her number from the last party). All I heard was before she left was lapdance and fun-and Duncan...he just sat there. I knew something had to be up now. _

_"Dude did you just turn her down?" I took a seat next to him. The dudette was no Bridgette but still hot! The kinda of girl he never turned down. _

_"She's not princess!" he mumbled back and took another gulp of beer. _

_"Dude, you are so wasted! Who's princess anyway. You know royalty or somethin?" I asked in my own slurred speech. I shouldn't have sat down. That lazy feeling was starting to overcome. _

_"No I dont knob royalbies!" he began to sink into the couch. _

_"Well is she hot?", I leaned back into the couch myself smiling at a blonde who was passing me by. Her hair wasn't nearly as shiny as Bridge's. _

_"Yeah. She's hot! And sexy, and beautiful, and smart, and pushy, and adorable especiallyyyy when she's mad with those freckles", he said with a goofy smile. He was starting to fall to the floor but didn't even notice. His face had a dreamy glow as he thought about his mystery girl. Even though he was gone I believed him and his mystery girl. He never talked about girls. He gloated about past scores but that was it, so I was still stoped to hear about a girl-fake or not. _

_"Well who is she?" I snapped back up with a smile. _

_"Princess!"_

_"That's her name?" I asked him. My eyebrow raised. What kind of name was that?_

_"No you idiot, her name's even more beautifuler!" he answered swooning. _

_"Ok?" I asked again pulling him back onto the sofa. _

_"Yeah it's great!" he looked back at me with that goofy smile again. _

_"Wh-"he cut me off_

_"But Shushhhhhhhh!" he put his finger to his mouth and shut his eyes real tight. "I'm not supposed-hicup- to think about her. Cuz there is NO way I like her even though she's the most beautifulest girl I've ever seen", he threw his drink around and leaned back into the couch. He stopped midsentence and looked at me guilty. _

_"Oh no! I thought about her again...shit!" he took another gulp of beer. _

"He was talking about some girl named princess like half the night!" I jumped up from my position and looked at the other two excited. I knew I would get it if I thought back far enough.

"What!" Dj nearly fell out of his bed and Trent looked like his eyes would fall out of his head.

"Wait a minute- our Duncan was talking about a girl like forreal?" Trent asked still wide-eyed.

"Yeah dudes. He wouldn't shut up about her. Said she was like the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen", I said the night was starting to come back to me in full force. I couldn't help but disagree with him now that I thought about it. Whoever she was she had to be real pretty and everything and cool people but Bridge had to be the prettiest of all the girls here hands down. Even if I hadn't met her yet.

"Are you sure that's what he said?" Trent asked confused, "I mean this is Duncan we're talking about and he only mentions girls to us when they have a huge rack".

"Apparently we missed something...hey what else did he say? Did he give a name?" Dj asked curious now. Who could blame him. Not just this morning he turned down a girl, who asked for his number, because she wasn't "hot material". After that he didn't add one more word about her. That was just the way he was. He never really kept any hook ups or girlfriends in mind because well they never left a good impression. And if he spent the whole night talking about just one girl, 'princess', then that could only mean that he might really have feelings for her. This was totally epic.

"Uh", I squinted my eyes and clenched trying to pull back the fading memories from tonight but nothing came back. It was so worthless now. "I got nothing man". I leaned back on bed and sighed.

"Hey Deej, why don't you see if he's dreaming about it now. He's got to at least remember a face", Trent sat back up a plan cooking in his eyes. He had a point if Deej could look into his dreams we could definitely find out who this mystery person is.

"Yeah! Trent, Bro! That's awesome", I jumped off my bed staggering to my feet and began pushing Dj out of the room. It was time to figure out who this Princess was.

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(Dj's POV)

I was being pushed against my will into Ducan's room shaking my head violantely. "Guys I can't do this, I just can't!" I insisted. Sure curiousity was biting at my buns like crazy but that didn't give me the right to go into someone else's mind. That was just wrong. And Duncan was my bud. There was no way I could do this.

"Come on Deej, you got this!", Geoff nudged me through the door anxious as ever now. Trent was jumping from one foot to the other behind him. Only moonlight was lighting our way to Duncan's bed where he was drooling pools of wet globs onto his pillow sheets. His face was relaxed into an uncharecteristic smile. It was weird seeing him there so open, so vulnerable it made me feel even worse. How did they even get me this far.

"guys look he's so peaceful...I-I couldn't. It's wrong", I stepped away from Duncan's unconscious body and looked out the window. The trees, the beach not to far from here, the animals- they were all so calming.

"It's not wrong Dj. This 'princess', whoever she is, could mean alot to Duncan. What if forgets about her", Trent pleaded innocently adverting his eyes. Great he just had to pull that card.

"Fine", I sighed caving in. If this girl really was that special maybe it was just what Duncan needed and I would hate it if he couldn't even remember her name the next day because I couldn't help. "Just wait outside and give me a minute", I said over my shoulder pulling a chair up to Duncan's bed.

"Outside? But why-" Geoff was cut off as a hand clamped over his mouth. Trent looked apologetically my way already understanding.

"Don't even worry we'll be just outside waiting for you", Trent said pulling Geoff out by the shoulders.

Once they were out I turned back to Duncan who was still drooling buckets. In the condition that he was in I was sure nothing could wake him up. Including three boys breathing over his body, but still I didn't want to take any chances. I looked intently at his head and concentrated edging into his subconscious. The black thickness clouding his mind drifted away and I could see multiple colorful shapes covering the background. I couldn't see exactly what was going on but I could definitely pick up two people. Both of them were blurry figures sitting in some kind of forest. One was a male with a green blob on his head and I figured that could only be Duncan. Just as I put a name to the blur his face came into focus confirming my estimation. The other figure had to be a girl from her frame and was sitting playfully in his lap laughing at some joke.

"I've heard that laugh before", I said concentrating harder now. Once I was able to focus in on the scene everything else in his dream would become clear after. The girl in his lap was still giggling at whatever he was saying and slapping his hand away from her face at the same time.

"Oh come on, Princess", dream Duncan said pouting his lips. He put his hand back up to her blurry face and wiped away a strand of brown hair.

"Princess this has to be her", I thought looking closer into her face. I started chewing on the bottom of my lip. Her face was starting to become clear. She was tanner I could tell that now and her hair only shoulder length. It was only a few seconds now...

And then it was gone. I snapped out of his head like a rubber band stretched too far. The scene in the forest was gone and the black wall rebuilt itself around the edges of his mind. What was I doing? This was my friend and no matter what Geoff or Trent said I couldn't do this. This was his personal dream that he hadn't invited me into. I had no right to be here or to see whoever this girl was that he was talking about. No matter how much I wanted to help, I was just gonna have to put my foot down and walk away. My mama brought me up better than that. And Professor Esmeralda would expect more from me especially after our talk.

_Flash Back_

_I knocked onto the door of the spirit teacher. I had a lot of questions nicking at me for a while about 'dream walking' as Professor Nuland called it. And since he was a water element and not a spirit he couldn't answer all my questions. He instead gave me a paper with a building and room number. I was supposed to find Professor Esmeralda because she was my best option-other than Professor Waters, but I was sure he was busy so I let him be. _

_"Come in", a small tight voice came from inside the room. It was a voice that was burned into my memory. I could never forget the voice of that small girl that trailed beside Professor Waters when he was telling his story. Her voice was not one that could easily be forgotten. It was filled with more than wisdom but history if that made sense. I twisted the gilded door knob and entered the cold class room. There was only one light on in the room and it hung dimly over the teacher's desk. That and a small window that leaked out the sun. The girl was hunched over some papers piled onto her desk. A calmly focused look was etched onto her face and she still wore the same kind of gypsy outfit that she did the last time. From a further distance she looked like a little kid trying to play teacher but with a closer look you could clearly see she was not one to play games. In the far corner of the room was a boy who looked similar to the girl with the same kind of clothes, eyes and hair. He was casually laying on the window sill strumming a small wooden instrument. His dark black hair curled around his eyes that held the slightest bit of amusement. He looked about the same age as her (still had no idea how old she was though). At my entrance he turned to me (never stopping his strumming) and gave a chesire cat smile. A chill ran down my spine. _

_"Hello Dj. How might I help you", That aged voice of the girl rang again turning me away from the curious boy in the window. She had set her papers aside and pointed to a chair beside her desk. Her face stayed in it's stone setting. _

_"Um I just had a few questions about- I think Professor Nuland called it 'dream walking'- and was wondering if you knew where Professor Esmeralda is", I looked at the girl at the desk sheepishly. The boy behind me snickered. _

_"Ion, leave us", the girl continued to look at me as the boy left growling to himself. The humorous glint in his eyes had faded. Once he left she opened her mouth. _

_"I am Professor Esmeralda and you've come to the right place if you're looking for answers". She didn't say it like she was full of herself but like she was simply making a statement. "What is it that you wanted to ask Dj?"._

_"How do you know my name?" I asked taking the seat beside her. My hands were beginning to sweat. _

_"I see history", was all she said. _

_"Oh..well I was just wondering- everytime I go to sleep I'm pushed into other people's dreams and really i'm not a nosy person or anything and I don't want to know what everyone's dreaming. That's their personal thoughts and it just doesn't seem like it's right for me to know. I-I just feel terrible", the words rushed out of my mouth seething with worry. My words were such a jumbled mess I wouldn't be suprised if she thought I was crazy. _

_"I see, and you want to know how you can stop it from happening", she said entwining her fingers. _

_"Yeah that's what I was hoping for", I replied._

_"Dj, I think you should know something about dream walking first and foremost", she said with wisdom, "there are only a few people in both worlds that pocess that talent and for good reason. Dream walking like most spirit gifts is very personal for both the pocessor and the person they are using it on. That being said the dream walker has to have the heart to know when enough is enough. It says alot about you're charecter that this is your gift and the fact that you feel guilty with what you are able to see". Her eyes softened and the coldness drifted away. She didn't seem all to warm now but her ease made me forget about my worries._

_"Have you ever tried to control it? or does it happen at random?" she asked. _

_"Um I have used it before but only when my sisters were having nightmares. I just shifted it a little so they could sleep"._

_"That was very kind of you-but I'm seeing that it didn't help with the guilt". _

_I shook my head looking glum, "No". _

_"I didn't think so...if you want I can help you with extra practice sessions starting Monday. Until then you must rely on your honesty", she didn't smile at me but that edge in her features drifted away becoming smooth. She picked up the papers on her desk and resumed her work ending our conversation. _

"she wouldn't be so proud of me now", I sat back in my chair and sighed.

"Sorry D, I should've known better", I got up from my seat as Duncan rolled onto his side ready to start another puddle of drool on the other side of his pillow. I put the chair back against the wall and met back up with Geoff and Trent who were waiting for me.

"Hey dude, what happened?" Geoff jumped up gracefully from his spot on the ground and rushed to my side. His body twitched with excitement. Trent calmly walked up beside him putting a hand on Geoff's shoulder.

"Chill dude give him some space", he said as a calming feeling wrapped around us making us all relaxed.

"I'm sorry guys but I couldn't see anything. He was too drunk so everything was black in there", I shrugged my shoulders averting my eyes from Trent. I knew he wasn't drunk enough to not tell that I was lying. I always got extremely nervous when I lied and he would be able to sense that without any trouble. What I was hoping for though was that he **was **too drunk to try and get the real answer from me. Besides I knew he would leave it alone.

"Aww man that sucks ass", Geoff said slumping against the wall.

"Uh yeah sorry guys", I shrugged my shoulders again and sped walked back to my room as fast as I could. Whoever this princess was we just had to hope that she was important enough for him to remember her.

**Sorry it took so long to update but school has been really hectic lately. But hopefully the next chapter wont take as long. **

**Oh yeah and I know you guys were wondering about Dj's power and I agree that it should have something to do with animals. It still does don't worry but I just wanted it to be different from the other stories that all have him talking to animals as his gift. **

**Hope you guys liked it. Thanks for reading btw thanks for review. Keep it coming I love reading them 3333**


	10. Chapter 10

Duncan

Sun cracked through my shades painfully shooting me in the eyes. I tried getting up but the moment my head lifted from my pillow I immediately regretted it. A dizzily heavy force slammed me back.

"Ugh", my mouth creaked open like a rusty old door caked with dried spit. The next morning hangover. It was something that I knew all too well. The pounding headache, the numb body limbs, eyes so sensitive to light that a night light burned like hell, were all a part it. You would think that even with how familiar I was with it that I would be prepared and I guess you could say that in a way I am. But there's always something about those first few seconds of pain that you just can't get used to. I tried again rolling out of my bed to get to the window. That cheery sun was going to be the death of me but I had to tough it out if I wanted to feel any better. Sun was one of the few things that helped me after I got messed up. I would experience a searing sting of pain and then a warm relief.

"God I feel like shit", I stumbled over to the window tripping on laid out shirts. Finally when I got there I was able to muster enough energy to yank the blinds open wincing as sun flooded through the window. I stood in front of the window pane letting my skin soak up as many rays as I could. My body shivered with relief and the thumping behind my eyes disappeared. My headache was still there but at least my eyes didn't hurt. Sighing I felt my way back to my bed collapsing into the cool sheets.

"Sleep, I need sleep", I mumbled to myself drifting off.

Just when I was about to start dreaming again the door creaked open.

"Duuuuuuuude, you awake?" Geoff whispered squeezing himself through the small opening.

"What's the point of asking me if I'm awake if you're just going to barge in anyway?" I asked now cranky. I ignored him and turned over to my other side so he was facing my back.

"Sorry dude, just wanted to see if you were cool now. I stopped by earlier with Trent and Deej to get you for mornin' classes but you were out cold", Geoff said pulling up my desk chair. He sat back and propped his legs up on my bed frame. "Soooooooo how damaged are you?"

"I feel like a car just hit me", I said rolling back over, "If you're gonna stay there then could you pull out that duffle bag under my bed?"

"Yeah", he bent down under my bed and grabbed at the straps pulling the zipper open for me. I mumbled my thanks and searched through it throwing shirts and spray paint bottles around the room.

"It has to be here somewhere. She said she put it in here", I grumbled lifting folds of clothes until I found what I was looking for. I ran my finger over the white plastic pill bottle and smiled. It was like an early Christmas present sent straight from heaven. On the cover of the Tylenol bottle was a yellow sticky note.

"I know you don't like using them but I'm sure these will come in handy. Don't party too hard and take care sweetie.

Feel better,

Mom"

I read the note to myself before putting it aside with a smile. Mom was always a lot more understanding than my father- not by much- but still more. I popped three swallowing them dry and slowly got up. Very slowly.

"What time is it?" I asked pushing back my comforter.

"I don't know but it's almost time for evening classes. You cool to go?" he asked

"Yeah, it's part of the deal…member", I went through the shirts on my floor and grabbed a clean white one pulling it over my head. I kept on my pants from yesterday and snatched up a pair of converses I had by the door.

"Forgot about that. Man that is one sweeeeet deal you got yourself", Geoff got back up from the chair and headed to the door.

"Yeah I know", I grabbed a brush and yanked my hair down. I didn't have the energy to gel it today so this would have to do for now. Even most of my piercings didn't make their way to my face. Only the necessary ones. I felt so naked. I looked back at Geoff and nodded letting him know I was good to go. It wasn't my best look but it was as good as it was going to get today.

"I still can't believe he cut you that deal…what did you say to him?" Geoff gave me a suspicious look as we made our way to class. He probably thought I had managed to threaten Waters even with his mind reading thing. See the deal was that if I didn't vandalize property, or get into trouble, or skip (for the most part because we both knew that any full time commitment was not gonna happen- I need my vacation days after all) then my record gets cleaned and I won't be getting sent back to Juvie. Of course he knew that all of those things were impossible for me to uphold so he gave me 'grace days' as he called them for me to do what I want-as long as I didn't destroy property. Like I said before, I was really startin' to like this guy.

"Nothing", I laughed finally getting to our room just before the bell rang. My head ache was starting to fade away to a low thumping beat.

The moment we stepped into the room everyone got silent. We weren't that late.

(Courtney)

"I think I'm going to do a power point for my presentation. I just have to figure out what the subject's gonna be on", Bridgette drummed her pencil on the black table top while biting her lower lip. Her voice drifted off as I concentrated on the lined paper in front of me. We had just gotten an assignment in English literature to make a comparison between three of Shakespeare's plays in either an essay or project. I planned on doing both for extra credit and if I was going to do that I needed to get a head start.

"Courtney!" Bridgette waved her hand in front of my face furiously.

"Huh-what is it?" I asked snapping my head up, "What happened?"

"I asked what you were planning on doing….but…" Bridgette asked trailing off as her attention got caught by something else, "wow".

I followed her eyes as well as everyone else's in the room to see what the commotion was. Just stepping into the class was Geoff in his normal attire, cow boy hat and all.

"What's so special about Geoff-oh", behind Geoff was another boy in a simple white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He looked tired and a little scruffy with a five o'clock shadow but still very handsome. His skin glowed with vitality even though the bags under his eyes were heavy. It was the weirdest mixture of being alive and completely depleted. Somehow they worked together complementing him. His black and green hair was parted slightly to the side. A little juvenile with the green hair but-

"Wait a minute green hair!" I thought to myself, looking closer into his face. I knew he looked familiar to me. Duncan! I stared at him mouth dropped. He was walking calmly to his seat sort of slumped over with an even bigger sense of 'I don't care' hanging over his head. It was so strange watching him. He looked so different without all the piercings and gel. He looked so rugged and natural (well as natural as Duncan could be) and for some reason he was able to pull it off. Ew.

"you know the rugged look is good on him. He's givin' Justin a run for his money", Leshawna turned around giving us a wink. Gwen snickered behind her.

"Yeah now that's something. We all know how Justin is", Rose said turning around as well giving us a small smile. Everyone knew all too well Justin's spirit gift. Compulsion, that's what Professor Nuland called it. In other words he made girls dripping putty in his hand, with just a wink or a smile. It was like a subtler version of hypnotism. Even I had my weaker moments that I was loathe to admit where one look and I was ready to head towards a chapel.

"So sad but true", Bridgette looked over her shoulder to give Justin a dreamy look.

"But back to the whole Duncan looking like a piece of rugged man candy", Leshawna chuckled bringing back our attention to the punk sitting at his table. He was nodding at Heather one table over who was winking at him.

"How pathetic", I mumbled under my breath. There was no reason for everyone to go all dreamy eyed for him just because he looks alright with a different style. A jerk like Duncan was capable of having a good day or two just like everyone else. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on Court, even you have to say that he looks good", Bridgette nudged me with her elbow raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Puh-lease! As if!" I shrieked crossing my arms trying not to look at the criminal himself. I could feel my cheeks warming. The girls only giggled at me shaking their heads unconvinced. Why didn't anyone believe me?

(Duncan)

I felt so naked. No piercings. No gel. You could barely even see the green in my hair. I brushed the hair from my eyes one more time trying to get used to it. It wasn't my first time doing this. Most hangover mornings I just slumped out of my bed pushed back my hair and ran, but I still hated it. The empty holes in my face and ears haunted me.

"So then we got mud balloons to fill his office" Geoff was trying to tell me about some prank he helped his senior friends pull on their principle ( he knew I wasn't listening but I think getting the story out of his system made him feel better…either that or he was really oblivious). He grabbed a tray behind me and started stacking food onto his plate. The best thing about this cafeteria was that unlike juvie these lines moved fast. Except for today. Today there was a hold up only a few feet ahead of us at the salad bar. The soda fountain, that I was trying to get to, was just beyond that. Could I have just got out of line and cut my way over to the drinks? Sure I could, but that would require me to pass the person who was causing the block up in the first place. Brown high-lighted hair, round hips, caramel skin. From where I was I could still see her frozen over a tray of food. Her face had a small look of concentrated shock and she was staring at something green on her hand. The people around her were looking at her as if she were crazy.

I looked down at my soda-less tray and had to make a choice. Go past her and inevitably get sucked into some kind of fight or forget the drink all together and deal with a dry throat. I looked back at her slender body as the shock faded from her face. She took a napkin and carefully rubbed at the skin on the back of her hand. She began biting her lower lip in the cutest way I had ever seen a girl-Yup I was definitely skipping out on a coke today.

I high-tailed it out of that line as fast as I could, heading back to my table. Geoff followed my lead walking a few steps ahead of me when out of nowhere there was another hold up. Except this time it was near my table. Blocking the path to our table were Courtney and Bridgette who were bent towards each other talking about what seemed to be important. Courtney was again looking shocked, her face was still and she was looking down at her hand in disgust. Bridgette was trying to reassure her of something with a calming tone. Great, just great I skipped out on my coke just to find her show up in front of me again. Was there no hiding from her?

"Hey you girls mind, were trying to get to our table that you're conveniently blocking", I said with heavy sarcasm.

Bridgette smiled and politely moved out of the way, but not for me. She never kept her eyes off of Geoff who was tilting his hat her way. Princess on the other hand rounded her shoulders and glared daggers at me. I was absorbed by our staring contest that I didn't notice Geoff and Bridgette backing up. By the twists of our face they could tell this could easily get messy. I gripped on the edges of my tray gritting my teeth. My chest started squeezing again. I really needed to see a doctor about that.

"You know saying please wouldn't kill you Duncan", she sneered my name crossing her arms.

"You know I've never tried that, and I just wouldn't want to take that chance. Sorry sweetheart", I said smirking evilly.

"I wish you would do us all a favor and try anyway. Whatever the outcome I'll be happy with it", she said spitting venom. I don't know what it was that happened to her just a few minutes ago but man it made her feisty today. My blood starting pumping under my skin and I had to suppress a smile.

"Oh aren't we a little feisty today. What's the matter, that pole up your ass gettin' a little tight?"

"I do **not** have a pole up my butt, and it's better to be feisty than **rude**! Unlike some people…and stop calling me sweetheart!", her nose scrunched and the freckles sprinkling her face lit up.

"Rude? You're one to talk. I recall it was you who held up the line just a minute ago for like an hour. That doesn't sound too polite to me…**Princess**", I leaned in towards unaware of the space closing in between us giving her a long pause. We were both silent now, staring angrily at each other. The seconds ticked by and her face steadily grew redder. And there was that strange buzz of electricity running down my spine again. Soon our faces smoothed out until we were just staring at each other. The hostility was practically gone.

"What!" Dj choked on his chicken wing ruining whatever weird moment was going on then. He grabbed at his neck with a shocked expression. Trent and Geoff who were sitting next to him didn't notice what was going on. They were too busy staring at us with dropped jaws. What the hell was their problem?

(Trent)

I heard Dj coughing, I even saw his worried expression from the corner of my eye. But I couldn't move. As much as I wanted to move I was glued in place from shock. I could feel air flowing from my open mouth. My eyes were watering from not blinking. What was I so shocked from? Duncan and Courtney.

It was normal at first. Duncan was already irritated from the hangover so it was a give in that he would pick a fight with someone. He already shoved Harold (poor guy) around a few times during elemental class and gym and even snapped at Eva. **Eva**. So picking a fight with Courtney, well it was just expected. What wasn't expected was the name he called her. Princess. The moment the name came out of his mouth all three of our heads popped up. How could we forget the name that he chanted over and over again while drunk last night. The name that he lavished with compliments. The one girl he actually talked about for real. And she turned out to be Courtney.

To say we were shocked was an understatement. Sure Courtney was pretty and nice (she was a little pushy at times but we all had our flaws) but Duncan hated her. Or at least that's how he always acted. Whenever she came within three feet of him he had some snide comment towards her or had to go and bug her about how "uptight" she was. Courtney likewise couldn't even stand to be in the same room as him. And now we find out that he's crushin' on Courtney…yeah it was a lot to take in. But I guess when you knew what was behind their fighting it all became obvious. I mean just watching them now, the way their glares softened and then they stared. How didn't we see it?

Duncan came rushing to Dj's side harshly patting his back. My guess was that he was still working out some of his anger problems. I could finally feel my body start to move again and I lept to Dj's aid. I didn't know the Heimlich maneuver but I thought that helping Duncan out would be my best bet. Hopefully us hitting his back would work out and eventually he would spit out the bone.

"Oh for the love of God", Courtney followed Duncan's trail and pushed him out of the way. I immediately backed off. I knew better than to get in Courtney's way when she was mad…or determined. I wasn't crazy like Duncan.

"You're going to hurt him doing that", Courtney put her arms around the bottom of Dj's ribs as best she could and folded her hands together. She thrust upward with a stern look and wouldn't give up until the bone piece came out. The bone flew out of Dj's mouth and onto the table leaving him coughingup a storm. He gripped the edges of the table and breathed deeply.

"Thanks Court", Dj squeaked out holding his throat. His eyes were wide but he seemed to be getting under control of himself now. Courtney nodded her head and left, probably to the house. Soon the noise started to rise again and wary eyes from all around the cafeteria shifted back to their original conversation.

"What the hell happened?" Duncan took a seat across from Dj and stared the three of us down. I, unlike Courtney, couldn't return the contact and had to look away. I felt guilty for not being able to respond like I should've. I didn't have to look over to know Geoff felt the same way. We stayed silent for a while and when I knew Duncan wasn't going to let it go I answered.

"Um, Dj was just laughing at a joke that Geoff was telling him and then started choking. But he's ok right big guy?" I turned to Dj and gave him a reassuring pat. It wasn't exactly the best lie that I've ever told because both Duncan and I knew that we were really watching his fight but what could I have said? 'Well we just heard you call Courtney Princess and wanted to know if she was the same girl that you wouldn't stop talking about last night while you were drunk.' No there was no way I was going to say that.

"Whatever", Duncan shrugged looking at us suspiciously before starting on his cold plate.

Geoff looked between Dj and I with a smile. He gave us a wink and my heart stopped. I could feel anticipation oozing off of him. I knew what he was about to do, I could just tell. He wanted to ask Duncan about the whole Princess thing. Big mistake. I shook my head furiously trying to get his attention. We just got out of the hole and he wanted to dive right back in. Ad knowing Geoff something from last night might slip out and we couldn't have that. Duncan was too proud to have people telling him what they think he feels. That just created a messy scene. Plus his mood still hadn't changed all that much for the good. Being across from him I could still feel the annoyance coming from him.

"Sooooo what's with the nickname you give Courtney. I mean I get the one you give Bridge, you know Malibu cuz she surfs but what's with Princess?" Geoff asked poking his food with a fork.

"Cuz she's bossy, stuck up, and acts like one", Duncan snapped not even looking up. I knew Geoff shouldn't have asked. I was silently begging that Geoff would just stop there.

"Oh just wonderin', cuz you know, I've never heard you call any girl that before", Geoff pushed forward blindly. "Have you?"

Duncan put his fork down and looked at Geoff irritated, "No cuz I don't wanna. Why do you keep askin?"

"No reason, no reason", Geoff put up his hands as a defense and immediately backed off. Thank God he stopped. The anger in Duncan was starting to build up again. The last thing we needed was an angry Duncan, an angry violent Duncan. I picked up my fork to make it seem like I was doing something and concentrated on the emotions around me. Dj was mostly relieved to get the bone out and worried about Duncan getting mad again. Geoff was anxious and worried himself (I would be too if I were him). And Duncan, well let's just say he wasn't at his best. The moods in the room was starting to be more than I could bare and a familiar headache starting forming on the corners of my mind. I had to leave and get some sleep before their emotions gave me a headache.

"Imma head back now so I'll catch you guys later", I got up from the table weary. I could feel bags form under my eyes as I stood there.

I carried myself back to the house ready to collapse the moment I came in contact with my bed. I needed to do homework no doubt but it was going to have to wait. Right now sleep was the only important thing in my head. I swung open the door feeling an overwhelming feeling of calmness. A smile spread across my face. I loved walking into a complacent environment it made me feel calm. It was so much easier to deal with than the hostile feeling back there.

----------------------------

I peered around the corner of the room to find the source of the room's positive vibe. Sitting on the sofa only a few steps away was Gwen. She had her legs sprawled out on the sofa's cushions. Her head was bent down and her frame was hunched over a pad she had in her lap. Her blue and black hair was covering most of her face beside her beautifully content smile. She looked so peaceful that my stomach started to squeeze in on it's self. I kept my footsteps light as I made my way over to the couch just behind her.

"That's beautiful", I whispered looking over her shoulder at the colored drawing in her hands. It was a picture of a pair of hazel green eyes, much lighter than my own that stared back at you. The mystery man's eyes were furrowed in both concentration and anger disturbed only in the slightest by a strip of brown shaggy hair cascading over his right eye. The picture was so life like that I had to remind myself over and over that it was **just** a picture.

"What!" Gwen jumped at the sound of my voice and whirled around so fast that she almost gave me whiplash from just looking at it. A feeling of pure shock vibrated into my head giving me a slight headache. "Oh it's you", she looked up at me still shocked as if maybe I was just a figment of her imagination.

"Sorry to scare you", I stepped back and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Not scared, just startled", Gwen looked down her hands. A small pale blush was showing on her cheeks.

"What'cha drawing?" I approached the sofa once again once I thought it was safe. My energy was still fading away but I just couldn't miss the opportunity of getting a chance to talk to her. Just me and her, getting to know each other, the very thought of it was making my stomach squeeze again.

"Nothing", she snapped her book shut and looked away shy. The blush in her cheeks still hadn't gone away, "I just had this weird dream and I wanted to draw it out before it left me for good". She got up from the sofa and stood there contemplating on what to say next.

"That's cool, I wish I could draw like that. Have you gone to a school for it because that was really good", I asked calming myself down. So what if this was the first time I've actually talked to her alone. There was nothing to be nervous about.

"Um thanks and no I havn't. It's just something I love to do", she said shuffling her feet.

"Oh...that's awesome", I took a step forward to close the space between. Big mistake. The moment I moved Gwen snapped out of place and began moving towards the stairs.

"I um...have to do homework, so yeah....see ya later", she squeaked bounding up the stairs with suprising speed.

"Uh yeah of course", I called after her not moving yet. "I'll just see you around", I finished knowing that she was already out of ear shot. I trudged up the stairs to my own room wrapped in my own thoughts.

"That is some girl", I breathed out closing my door behind me. There was no question to it I definitely liked her-but who wouldn't. I mean she's smart, nice and way talented. Of course I liked her. Plus she was beautiful even with all her makeup. She was just her own person and you rarely see that now-a-days. My only problem happened to be that I just couldn't talk to her. Yeah we had a few conversations and i would definitely call her a friend but when it came to something beyond that my hands were tied. How could I possibly make a girl like Gwen notice a guy like me?

I sat down on my bed and pulled out my guitar. Whenever I had to work out a problem I knew I could think it through as long as I had my guitar strings to pluck. And that's when it hit me. A song might get her attention. Of course it wouldn't be a record selling hit single but still it was worth a try. I put my guitar down and took out my song book flipping to a clean sheet of paper. On the very top line in bold black ink I wrote, "Gwen's song".

--------------

(Duncan)

Once Trent left I pushed back my chair as well ready to leave. I didn't wave over my shoulder to the guys I just got up and walked away. I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone-why? I had no idea but the very thought made me cringe. I couldn't explain why such a little fight like the one I had with Princess screwed with my head. I couldn't tell you why Geoff's word's bothered me or why I didn't just give them the real story on how I came up with Princess' nickname. I had no idea why I was so frustrated lately but I knew how to fix it. I needed to run again, stretch my legs out. Running always did that for me. Cleared my head and put everything in perspective. I set off for the beach just a little while from the school-a windy empty beach sounded like the perfect place to be.

I kept a steady pace as I jogged trying to let the loud rhythms block out my thoughts but it wasn't working. The more I tried to clear out my mind the more they kept pushing through the walls I was building. Finally I made it to my destination not a minute too soon. The sound of waves beating against the shore was all I could hear. No people, no animals, nothing but the water. Perfect. I sat down in the sand turning my music up full blast. If my thoughts weren't gonna leave me alone then I was going to have to square my shoulders and deal with them. What other choice did I have, right? Once again the sound of music filled my eardrums blocking out any sounds that would interrupt my train of thought.

Princess' face came rushing back into my head once I let those protective walls come down. Her laughter when she ran, her smile when she was laying in the grass even her scrunched up nose when she was angry. She was someone who followed the rules like it was her life source. Every time I said something crude or did something wrong she was the first one to reprimand me. She was my complete opposite, a prep-the kind of people I had made a pact to hate for the rest of my life. But she was also different from all the girls I had dated or hung out with before. I snapped my fingers lighting a small flame on my thumb and watched it slowly take over my entire hand. I let the fire die a little and then I brought it back to life. I repeated the process thoughtlessly and with mild interest.

The girls I had relations with were like Lindsey. Hot girls with no brains. Even girls like Heather who were rude and bitchy for no reason gravitated towards me. They were looking for fun and more than willing to get wild and I was the bad boy ready to help them out with it. I never got into relationships because they were boring. Trust me I tried a couple times with a few chicks but they never worked. They were girls I could get along with just fine. They had piercings, I had piercings. They liked tattoos and hair dye and so did I. We worked together just fine- like clock work. But after a while that clock would break down and things got boring. It wouldn't be anymore than a week later that I would finally throw in the towel and do something stupid so they would break up with me. It was easy too. They were predictable so all I had to do was go out to some house party with the guys let loose and end up in the bed of a drunken one night stand. They'd call me a bastard and break up with me and I'd go back out to party again completely unfazed. It was a cycle.

I sighed shaking my head I never went through this kind of battle with myself over any other girls. If I wanted to stop thinking about them it was an easy task to accomplish. A lavish night out with the guys always helped. But with her it wasn't that simple.

"Princess isn't like them", I whispered laying back down. She was stubborn and independent. She seemed so innocent and yet she was one of the most vicious people I had ever seen-as she showed in all those dodge ball games. She acted like I wasn't hot-when I know I am-and I kinda liked it.

"And it's not like it's a bad thing", I called out to the ocean trying to reason with an invisible person. "I mean the girl is fuckin' sexy especially when she's mad".

I grabbed a handful of sand watching each grain slip through the cracks of my fingers. There was no point in denying it anymore I had a thing for her. I could feel a great weight lifting off my chest as I realized what was happening. I've only known her for nearly a month but I was already taken by her. She was in no way my type of girl and yet she was the kind of girl I always hoped to meet if I was ever to settle down (doubt that'll ever happen). No one else here reacted like she did when I said or did something to them. She was the only who fought back too. She had a fire within her that was so easily upset.

Maybe it was my head trying to make up stories but as I sat there in that sand I realized something even bigger. She had to have a thing for me too. I saw all the looks she would give me. All those glares that she sent my way for no good reason and those fights she had with me when she saw a cigarette between my lips. She never nagged with anyone else like she did with me. In fact I was the only one she ever really fought with. Plus I caught the look on her face when I pulled off my shirt.

I dumped the rest of sand from my hand down. My mind was made up. Even if she "didn't" like me (doubt it) she still had to feel something towards me and I could always change her mind. Yeah that was exactly what I was gonna do. I was going to get her. I was determined now to find some way. Besides I could always use a good challenge to brighten my day…this was going to be fun.

I jumped up from my spot in the sand and ran back to the house. Now that I figured everything out my stomach started to growl again demanding for more than just a piece of bread. I weaved in and out of the trees around me. I could finally feel that exciting rush that I felt earlier again now that my mind was made up. My numb feeling faded away and the world came rushing back to me. Happiness, relief, and most importantly hunger. The urge to eat was still biting at my stomach but the rush of the moment was keeping it out of mind. I was able to get back to the house in only minutes with my legs feeling like jelly. I wobbled my way back into the house passing a few of the guys who were watching TV. I gave them a half heartened wave before sneaking my way up the stairs. I was on a mission and my stomach couldn't afford idle chit chat.

Owen and Frankie were among the few downstairs so that meant their room would be empty which also meant easy access to Owen's secret stash of candy. The first night that we came I kept an eye on Owen so I could figure out where he got that candy bar from. At first I thought that it was the only one he had but a guy like him had to be fully stocked with the stuff 24/7. So I followed behind him with a suitcase in my hand like I was going to my room when I was really just looking to see where he was going to stash it. But anyway I knew I was going to need some emergency food some time while I was here and now I'm glad I chose to snoop.

I creaked open their door and backed in the room slowly while looking around the hallway for any witnesses. If anyone saw me then I would have to either ditch-there is no way in hell I'm doing that with an empty stomach- or threaten them and I had no time for that now. I only had a few seconds before my stomach was sure to cave in on itself. The first thing I did was turn the lights completely off so no one would see me if they passed by. The only light I had to go by was the crack coming through the hall way. I would've shut the door completely if this was a house but I had to keep an eye open for Owen just in case he decided to get something from his room. Plus I would attract more attention if people kept hearing a door open and close. Next I tip toed over to the window unlatching the hook. Just in case Owen or Frankie did come up the stairs I was going to need another way of escape. There was a tree thankfully just outside the window that I could easily jump to if I needed. I took a few more seconds in that spot to let my eyes adjust to the scene around me. After all the B&Es I've done I would be able to navigate my way through a pitch black room.

I tiptoed over to Owen's bed plugging my nose. I was so glad I choose to stay in my own room instead of taking up Water's suggestion. I couldn't even figure out how Frankie was able to sleep in a room with this guy. I crunched down even lower and reached under the bed until my fingertips brushed against his suitcase. Jackpot! I grabbed at his bag and yanked the zipper open, snagging my finger in the process.

"Damn it!" I hissed pulling my finger from the zipper's hold. I lifted it closer to my face making sure that there was no blood before turning back to the candy popping out from the bag. Damn cheep zippers were always difficult to deal with.

"What are you doing in here?" a familiar voice whispered behind me filled with venom. I had to smile at the coincidence of the situation. The one person that I had been avoiding all night, the one person that made me wage a small war in my head had to be standing right behind. Leave it to princess to find me right in the middle of stealing something. Any moment now she was going to start rattling off on how inappropriate I was being.

"Well I'm hungry so I'm takin' some of Owen's food here", I shrugged turning around to face her. She was still in her clothes from today and her hands were already on her hips. She was yet again wearing a scowl. Damn she was hot.

"But that's not yours", she whispered harshly back at me. Her eyes seemed to glow once they landed on the barbeque chips tucked under my arm.

I turned back to her with a sly grin. I slid past her and peaked around the corner of the hallway to see if anyone was climbing the stairs. Still empty, good, I wouldn't have to use the window as my second exit.

"Please like big boy needs it", I said leaning against the window.

"That doesn't make it right", her voice was slowly lowering to a hushed mumble.

"Fine then, do you want to go tell on me?" I smiled evilly at her closing the space in between us. I'm glad I got over all that crap from earlier messing with her was way too much fun. "Though you might have to tell them how you knew I was in here since the door was practically closed…and the lights are off". I began shoving all the candy bars into my long pockets freeing one of my hands. Recognition lit up in her eyes and she looked back at me with disbelief like I wouldn't say anything. Her eyes narrowed in dangerous slits. She was in someone else's room with just me…in the dark. Now that I thought about I didn't mind her telling people. A boy and a girl in a dark room alone can only spell out one thing.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired guys I think I'll head to bed now", Owen's voice came echoing down the hallway. His footsteps were getting louder with his approach.

"Great now we have to go out the window", I whispered to princess behind me hoisting myself onto the window ledge. From where Owen was now it looked like we had only 30 seconds at most to get the hell out of here.

"Not the window!" she whispered back, worry was all over her face. She kept looking from me to the window back and forth.

"Yes the window. Now come on we don't have time for this", I reached behind me and grabbed her hand pulling her with me. I was the first one to jump to the tree. It was only about two feet from the window but I had done worse. Compared to some of the ways I've gotten out before this was an easy escape. Then again I didn't have to deal with someone else like now.

"Hey Frankie", Owen's voice was right at the door now. If she didn't get her butt to this tree then we were both screwed.

"Princess, I got you-jump!" I held out my hand for her and leaned out using a branch as my crutch.

"Fine!" she jumped the two feet easily and grabbed onto the branch behind me completely ignoring my hand. She looked down at my hand still hanging out there like it was plagued. I pushed us both into the leaves so we wouldn't be seen by unwanted eyes.

"Man I'm bushed!" Owen came in the room flipping on the light. Behind him came Frankie who looked just as tired as him. The first thing he did was come over to the window to close it. Thank God. I thought my legs were going to pop off with how long I was crouching in the leaves. Owen's conversation faded to a low mumble.

"Well it's been real, but I should really be going", I called to princess before jumping to the ground in a perfect dismount. "You gonna be ok sweetheart?" I looked back up into the tree to where Courtney was trying to climb down from the tree and failing miserably. With the way she was climbing I wouldn't be surprised if she fell any moment now.

"Yes you ogre. I'm fine!" she replied stepping down on another branch. Man she was moving slow.

"I could've been back in my room by now", I thought. The time she was taking to just get to one branch was excruciatingly long, but still she refused my help. It was quite endearing when I thought about it. "Why you getting mad at me? I was just trying to help", I said back to her even though it was a stupid question. I already knew she would find a way to blame me for **her** being stuck in a tree. Even though everything was **her** fault not mine.

"Because this is all you faul-", a twig snapped under her while she was in mid sentence pushing gravity against her. She stumbled out of the tree too shocked to say anything and straight into my arms.

She landed in my outstretched arms with a small "Uff" and froze in place. She looked up into my face with eyes the size of saucers. I was sucked into those deep brown eyes again. A small buzz of electricity ran through my body stopping where my arms were holding her up. Just like on the plane, and in the cafeteria I was a statue in my place unable to move or even look away from those eyes. Her cheeks were starting to flush a light blue color as well as her hands. My own hands were beginning to glow a light pink/red.

This time she was the first one to break the silence. "I-I", she stammered blinking her eyes. The shock melted from her eyes and her brown orbs of hers narrowed into dangerous slits.

"I made her stutter. Ha!" I thought to myself. Maybe getting her wouldn't be as challenging as I thought. A slow smirk crept onto my face. She was making this all too easy.

"Get off me!" she jumped from my arms and pushed away from me.

Maybe not.

"Well your welcome, princess", I said making my way back to the house grabbing the bag of bbq chips I dropped to catch her on my way knowing she would follow me. She was one of those people who never let you get the last word.

"Puh-lease! I haven't forgotten that this was all your fault in the first place!" she caught up to me easily.

"My fault? How is all this my fault?" I yelled at her stomping over tree roots.

"You're the one who suggested we go out the window!" she yelled back.

"It was the only way out! Would you rather we still be in the room now? Besides I'm the one who just saved your ass back there", I pointed out.

"Again I wouldn't have fallen if we never even went out the damn window!" Her hands were starting to turn a deep purple blue.

"Well hell princess, that's some mouth you got there. Too bad your ungrateful ass won't let a thank you slip through it". I stopped walking in front of our house door and turned to face her, my own hands glowing red again.

"Say thank you for what! This is all **your** fault"

"You know if you hadn't been so uptight and minded your business. We wouldn't even be here right now"

"I was minding my own business when I passed Owen's room and heard some idiot shuffling around with the lights turned off. Maybe if you didn't have to go all criminal all the time I wouldn't bother!"

"Well I didn't know you cared so much…what are you going to do tell on me?" I leaned in closer with a victorious grin. I had her cornered finally. duncan-1, Princess-0.

"Just don't do it again", she poked me in the chest before slipping through the main door mumbling in defeat.

I followed her hop up the stairs with my eyes "Damn she creases me…I dig that in a chick".

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**yay!!!!!! i'm finished!!!!! it's bout time too but this chapter is finally finished i wasnt sure if i liked it-shoot im still not sure if i like it but at least it's done. So plz tell me what you think!**

**oh yeah before i forget i'm sorry for keeping you all in the dark about who's got what gift. i was going to bring in each charecter's gift over time but that will take waaaaaayyyy to long for my tast so i minus well tell ya now:**

**Duncan can control fire(his element is obviously fire), Courtney can control ice (element's water), Bridgette can breathe under water as well as talk to the sea creautres-kinda like a mermaid cept without the tail (water), Geoff can munipulate wind-not just out of his mouth(air), Gwen can see into the future (spirit), Trent can read emotions (spirit), Leshawna controls rocks( earth), Justin compulsion-like hyponotism for girls (spirit), Heather controls electric shocks (fire), Eva controls flames(fire), Izzy creates explosions(fire), Beth turns invisible(spirit), Sadie and Katie create tornados(air), Lindsey flies-btw i know she threw something at Trent in a previous chapter but it only caused damage because it was a huge piece of equipment. Have you seen those things! deadly-(air), Owen can create an inpenetrable metal skin (earth), Cody works with metal-building gadgets from hand, that sort of thing (earth), Noah super smart/telekinisis-is there anything else for him to really have(spirit), Harold is a mental Tracker(spirit), Ezekiel creates fog-no offense to Ezekiel lovers but I just couldn't see him with a big bad power (water), Tyler can cause bad luck on other people-but it backfires on him alot(spirit),**

**The other charecters: Rose controls vegetation(earth), Frankie has speed (air), Tavon controls water-dont think i need to say the element, Dariun healing (water), Joanna creates sparks (fire), Daniel creates rock body for himself (earth), Shanice sonic vibration(earth), Nicole controls heat (fire)**

**so there you have it! glad i got that over with and by the way-I got a cookie!...and a sports car! yes!!! XD**


	11. Chapter 11

(Courtney)

I was surrounded by darkness. Darkness and the feeling of satin covered all my senses. Where was I? I turned around carefully hoping to find some kind of light to guide me.

"Hello?" I called out into the night in hopes of getting some kind of answer. But silence was my only response. Just when I thought I would be stranded in the blackness forever a dim glow flickered in front of me revealing to me the room or part of it anyway. The dark red walls were now lined with small candles that faded into the darkness. There seemed to be no floor instead an endless abyss. The only thing keeping me up was the large round bed that was floating on its own accord. It was covered in deep red satin sheets that felt like feathers when touched.

I looked down at my own appearance to make sure I wasn't wounded or hurt. I couldn't feel anything but this place was too freaky for me to not take the precaution and check.

"Oh my God", I gasped at my outfit, or my lack of one to be more specific. I was dressed in some skimpy scarlet night gown that skimmed my thighs lightly with its lace. The thin straps of the dress hung on my shoulders no matter how many times I tried to bring them back to their original position and my neck line made a plunge into my chest. This was nothing like the white night gown I usually wore. I looked over the room again hoping to find some kind mirror so I could see how I looked.

"I wish I knew what I looked like", I mumbled annoyed to myself-"Where did this come from". I looked over to the mirror that appeared out of nowhere with another gasp. The intricately patterned mirror reflected a stranger who looked similar to me. Her hair was ruffled and splayed out in a crazy style. Her face was nearly naked besides the thick layer of black eye shadow heavily applied to her eyes. Her lips were smooth and slightly parted in shock.

"Is that me?" my mind spun in a dizzy whirl. This girl in the mirror looked nothing like me. She looked daring, she looked wild, she looked…primal and yet her lips moved with mine. Her shock mirrored my own…this had to be me.

_Whoosh._ I great breeze blew through the room grabbing my attention. The soft mist that followed the breeze formed a small cloud at the foot of the bed taking the form of a human.

"Who's there?" my voice squeaked out in panic. Was I going to die here?

The body of mist began to develop into a solid being. A pair of strong legs covered in only boxer briefs was the first to take form. Next was the torso that was broadly built with lean muscles. And finally his thick arms came into shape. Every muscle in his body was deeply defined with shape and acute lines. My mouth dropped from the vision in front of me. The only thing I couldn't see was his face that was still being covered up by the steamy mist. There was something strange about that body. I've seen it somewhere before…but where?

"You never were that patient Princess", the stranger crept onto the bed allowing the mist to fade away unveiling the face of Duncan.

"Duncan what are you doing here?" I hissed in disbelief, this had to be a nightmare. My head was reeling with questions that I knew I would get not one answer to.

Instead of attempting to answer me, Duncan advanced forward playing a rueful smile on his lips. I was having a hard time backing away and eventually came to a dead end when my back met the dark cherub carved head board. He had me pinned and relished in his small victory. I had nowhere to go and we both knew it. The only thing I could do was look panicked.

"Why so panicked Princess?" he leered inches from my face testing the field. He showered my face with the cool smell of cigarettes and spearmint gum.

"Well-", I tried to answer with some quick wit but was cut off by his soft kiss. That one kiss, so unexpected, seemed to say everything. It was gentle yet filled with urgency. It was so against everything that I had made him out to be.

"Do you want me to stop", Duncan broke apart our lips breathing irregularly. His face was confident like he already knew what I would say and yet there was a sign of uncertainty hidden behind those ice blue eyes.

"What should I say?" I asked myself in panic. My mind began to battle out my options.

"_Say no"_, my common sense tried to take hold of me but for some reason I wouldn't listen. All of a sudden my common sense wasn't making any sense what so ever. What was the real issue anyway? We were both here in a dimly lit room, no one was with us. This was probably just a dream. So why not go for it? Looking into those blue eyes my answer seemed even more obvious all I had to do was let go.

_"Go for it", _another louder voice whispered into my head making my decision final. I looked back into his patient eyes with a smile before pulling him down to meet my lips. Bringing him down for that kiss was like taking a step out of my box. The voice that I regularly conversed with was no longer my companion. It was being replaced with indifference. The deeper our kiss became the less that voice of reason could be heard and I didn't miss it.

"I didn't think so", his husky voice tickled my ear playfully. In just a few short seconds we were rolling across the bed spread entangling ourselves once again.

"Oh my God!" I shot up from my bed in a second, perspiration glued pieces of hair to my forehead. I looked around my room in confusion taking in the white walls and familiar furniture with severity.

"What the hell just happened", I clutched the blankets twisted around my ankles in worry. Why on earth would someone like me have a dream like that, with a person like him! It didn't make sense. I loathed him, despised him. How could I have such a heated dream with him of all people.

"Mhm..." across from me Bridgette turned over in her bed sighing contently to herself in her dreams. Thank God I was gifted with a roommate who slept like a brick.

"Court, you ok?" Bridgette's voice rescued me from the trance I had put myself in. The images from my dream were imprinted in my mind. They kept me locked in their vision of red satin sheets and dimmed candle light to a point where that was all that my eyes would see. If I let my guard down for only a second my eyes would fix on just replaying my dream. Everything I saw would transform into items from last night. The apple on Bridgette's plate converted into a deep red throw pillow. Rose's cup of water- a dripping wax candle held by an intricate golden handle.

"Huh, yeah…I'm ok", I shook myself from my daze embarrassed. Today was going to be difficult but I couldn't let my mind drift off like that again. People would start thinking I was turning into another Izzy.

"You sure, you look way out of it", Leshawna insisted on Bridgette's previous question. She had the same look of concern that Bridgette wore not moments before.

"Yeah I'm ok, I just didn't get much sleep last night…" I trailed off hoping that the conversation would end there but they wouldn't let it die.

"What happened? You had a nightmare or something?" Gwen inquired from besides me. She put down her cereal filled spoon and joined the conversation.

"You could say that", I mumbled looking down on my plate.

"Really I'm fine now, I'll take a nap later on today", I reassured my friends with hopes that the subject might be dropped now.

"Aight then", Leshawna was the first to drop it-God bless her- and she soon captured Gwen and Rose's attention with her own conversation. The only person who was not so convinced with my antics was Bridgette who was looking at me in a weird way.

"So what was the dream about? From what I heard last night it had to be interesting", recollection flickered onto her features and a sly grin formed on her lips.

"Crap", my mind bubbled over in chagrin "But you were asleep, I saw you". The words rushed out in a pleaded whisper begging it to be just a cruel prank.

"You woke me up half way through the night and I had a hard time getting back to sleep after that", she matched my whisper keeping our discussion private. An invisible box was created with our leaned in posture blocking out unwanted ears.

"So…Duncan?" she perched her eyebrow in a quizzical position.

"I told you it was a nightmare", I let my head regress back to the table in defeat.

"From what I heard it wasn't much of a nightmare. Especially from what you were saying", that sly smile of hers only grew in size. She looked like the Cheshire cat with that grin.

"Ugh, shut it", I responded with a glare. The only time I ever talked while sleeping was when I was having an emotional dream- a fact that Bridgette knew all too well now.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I think this is a sign that I need to get more sleep…yeah that's all", I drifted off into my own little world trying to find a solution to my dilemma. Maybe it was the food I was eating. I had once read in a magazine that if you ate too late at night nightmares were sure to happen. Was 8:30 late?

"Ok if you say so", Bridgette gleamed with entertainment at my absurdity finally returning to her fruit salad and leaving me to my queries.

* * *

(Duncan)

I looked over at Princess' desk one more time to find her in the same slump. Not one inch moved. She had been like that all day. It was like she was stuck in some kind of permanent trance that kept her immobile. I had to have set her up a million times today with one of my sex jokes. But I got nothing. No blue hands, no glare, not even a little blush. I was being ignored and that was just wrong.

"Whatever, not like it's my problem", I shrugged to myself. If she was depressed or something it wasn't my issue. I rolled my eyes at the thought of actually caring. Besides she probably wouldn't even open up to me.

"Oh please you care about her and you know it. Why don't you just go over there and talk to her already. What's the worst that could happen?" I questioned myself "…She probably won't even talk to me again, but it wouldn't hurt I guess", groaning inwardly I pushed myself both mentally and physically out of my sit. I didn't even know if she would try and talk to me. For all I knew she would scoff at me and ignore me all over again.

"Hey Princess you got a pen or something I forgot mine", I casually slid behind her and tapped her shoulder lightly. No response.

"Princess you there", I moved in closer whispering in her ear. Was she even awake? The moment my breath met the back of her neck she groaned faintly and slumped further away placing her head on the black table in front of her.

"I don't have a pen…Duncan…so just leave me alone. I'm in no mood today", she murmured in a tone barely audible.

"Whatever…just wanted a pen", I walked back to my seat even more baffled than before. What was wrong? Last night she seemed fine. In fact we had a pretty good fight yesterday for no reason at all. Everything seemed normal to me. Slumping back into my seat I tried to figure out what was wrong with her.

Bridgette! A light bulb clicked on in my head. If anyone here knew what was going on with her it would be Bridgette. After all they were roommates. I pushed back my chair and went to Geoff only a few desks away. Bridgette was already sitting on the window sill chatting away happily. Neither of them heard my approach.

"Hey Geoff what's up", I pounded fists with him and took a seat on the edge of his desk. I was never one to cock bloke a friend but I had some things to find out right now.

"Hey Malibu what's up with your friend she seems even more crabby then usual today" I went straight to the point. Geoff tensed a bit and looked back at me questioningly. Wow he was more protective of his girl than I thought.

"Ha, yeah she just had a rough night that's all", a huge smile broke out across Bridgette's face as she jumped off the window sill. Her eyes seemed to nearly light up with a private joke.

"What you talking bout a nightmare or something?" I looked back at Princess with disbelief she didn't seem the kind of person to let one small dream mess her up like that.

"No, more like insight", Bridgette laughed her way back to her seat as class began leaving both Geoff and I entirely confused. Whatever she meant I was gonna snap her out of it. It was just offensive to ignore a giant piece of man candy like me for an entire day. It wasn't right.

(Courtney)

I think I did something wrong in a past life.

Perhaps I was a serial killer or a crazed maniac who robbed innocent old people. There was no other explanation that I could think of that would have karma so against me today. I just wanted to coast through the day, claiming to all my teachers that I felt sick and needed to put my head down. I hated lying to them but it had to be done. I was too absorbed in my own little world to do anything else. So it was my plan to just keep my head down and hopefully sleep the day away but no, karma just wouldn't let that happen. Instead the whole entire day Duncan decided to bug the mess out of me. The one person that honestly I couldn't even deal with at the moment. I told myself that morning that I would just ignore him and let the dream run its course and pass on but I just couldn't get my way. All day he was poking me with pencils, calling me names and just constantly at my side breathing down my neck. He wasn't helping in the least.

"God!" I threw my pillow across the room as my alarm went off. I hit the dismiss button and grabbed my sneakers, getting ready for gym. I had come up to my room during lunch break to hopefully get some peace and quiet to myself away from that, that…that ogre but he took sleep away from me as well. Every time I tried to close my eyes the dream would pick up right where it left off-us tangled in sheets. So I took the whole hour trying to figure what bad deed I could've committed that would make the universe against me. And when it was time for elemental class well Professor Nuland just let me come back up to my room and rest.

I slowly trudged to the gym where Chris wasn't even there yet. I was well aware that I was early for class. In fact I had to be at least ten minutes early by the looks of it. But I was ok with that. I slumped over to the bleachers and laid my head back. Today we were supposed to be doing something with water so that meant that the class had to get swimsuits, so I was going to have at least five more minutes of quiet to myself. The happy thought calmed down my nerves a little. I closed my eyes and leaned further into the bleachers.

"Good to see you're not so up-tight right now", Duncan's voice broke me from my calm state. I cracked open my eyes as little as possible and peeked through. Sure enough, there he was looming over me with a cocky grin.

"It's official, karma hates me", I thought to myself and closed my eyes again hoping that if I kept them shut he would just disappear.

"Could you please just go away", I sighed squeezing my eyes even tighter.

"What and miss this precious one on one time with my princess, never", he slumped down in a seat next to me and slid close. I could practically feel the heat from his skin on mine and an image from last night sailed across my closed eye lids. My eyes popped open in an instant.

"Do you mind, I don't like sitting next to creeps", I pushed myself away from him trying not to look at his face. Being mad at him definitely helped dismiss my previous dream. Maybe this was how I could forget that awful dream.

"Oh then it's good that I'm not a creep", he slid over to me again with a smirk.

"By who's definition? I find you to be a huge creep actually", I laughed sarcastically sliding over yet again.

"You don't think I'm a creep you think I'm dashing", Duncan stroked the hair on his chin and leaned in closer. His face was confident and nearly inches from mine. He was so close I could smell his breathe-cigarette and spearmint coolly press their way up my nose. Yet again I had to concentrate in order to stay in the real world and not get sucked into that nightmare. I squirmed a bit.

"Why so panicked princess?" the words flowed out of his mouth and flew around my head making me dizzy. Was it just me or was the room turning red too?

"Hey! You guys are early, no doubt excited about what a great class this is!" Chris came barging through the door, before I could think about my actions I pulled back my knee and thrust it forward. I had to quickly rearrange my face so all you could see was anger instead of shock. He had to know I meant business and I wasn't going to allow that dream to happen ever again. Ever!

Before he could say anything a crowd of students swarmed into the gym swimsuits in hand and ready to go. We were swept up into the mass and his friends were all ready surrounding him asking him what was wrong. Hopefully he would just take the hint and back off.

(Duncan)

The pain between my legs was starting to subside, finally and the guys had backed off with the questions. Honestly I just wasn't in the mood to even talk right now, let alone answer stupid questions about why I was hunching over.

"Chris why are we still waiting? Can't we just get in without them?" Geoff asked inching himself closer to the edge of the pool. The other guys followed his lead and leaned forward as well only to be stopped by chef's huge arm.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, not very gentlemen like boys. You don't want to wait for the girls?" Chris looked over our faces with fake shock. He knew damn well that we didn't want to wait for the girls. What was the big deal anyway it's not like they would get lost trying to find their way out of the locker room.

"Um no, we just said we didn't want to dude", Geoff answered first in an oblivious tone. Sometimes I wondered if he had ever heard of sarcasm before.

"WELL TOUGH!" chef climbed up on the life guard's chair on the other side of pool. He didn't have to turn around for his threat to be taken into account. Harold swiftly but unnecessarily backed away from the pool's edge tucking his feet under him.

"And here come the girls now! Ladies glad you could join us", Chris exclaimed clapping his hands together. "Now that you're all here we can get to today's game…nothing! Ya'll got free time so go crazy".

"Wait so why didn't you just let us go in when we wanted to?" Trent asked getting slightly irritated.

"Cuz, more fun for me!" Chris laughed and walked over to join Chef at the life guard chair, leaving the rest of us annoyed beyond belief.

"For what it's worth I would rather drown then leave my life in Chris' hands", Gwen mumbled as she went off to the diving board reflecting the thoughts of the friends around her.

Geoff was the first to shake off Chris' words and jumped in the water creating a large wave. "Hey bridge you comin' in?" Geoff called out rising from the water. Bridgette nodded excitedly and rushed in after him doing a perfect dive.

I looked across the large room and spotted the girl I was looking for. Princess was looking so peaceful in the hot tub only a few feet away from the pool. She was sighing to herself and dipping lower into the water that surprisingly had no steam coming from it. Everyone else was either in the water- besides Heather and her followers who were laying on the chairs on the side the pool like they could manage to get a tan- so I figured it was safe to go over there without other people disturbing us. Princess looked so at peace that I just had to mess with her. It was the best bit of revenge I could offer since she so kindly collided her knee with my balls. It was payback time.

I sauntered over to the hot tub as quietly as I could making sure to blend whatever noise I made in with the background of laughter and splashing water. When I got closer I noticed the whole reason there looked like there was no steam. The temperature had been turned off completely. In fact the air around the pool was so much colder it seemed impossible. Though I could barely see her arms I could still tell that her skin was purple. Obviously she was the cause of the coldness.

"Well a little heat never hurt anybody", I mentally told myself as I slipped gently into the water immediately heating up my skin and the water along with it.

(Courtney)

I could feel the water shift under me as I recognized the presence of someone else. I kept my eyes closed and listened to the merry laughter around me. At first I thought that maybe it was Bridgette come to give me some sort of company but I could hear further in the distance her joking around with Geoff.

"Bridge no fair the rest of us can't breathe under water", I heard him chuckle. She happily resurfaced to tease him and their voices spilled back into the crowd.

"Poor Geoff", I thought to myself. I learned a while ago that you could never play marco polo with Bridgette without cheating. She could stay under for as long as she wanted which meant the only way to find her was to bump into her by accident or open your eyes.

"But I wonder who's in the pool", I brought my thoughts back to the mystery person now in the tub. Around me I could feel the water's temperature rise. I opened my eyes to find the culprit who barged in on my time and turned up the heat without even so much as a warning. I mean how rude could you be?

"Do you mind turning the heat back down I kind of liked it just how it was", I finally opened my eyes and shifted out of my comfortable position to confront the stranger. Once I saw who it was my eyes narrowed. I think at this point whenever I saw him it was just an automatic response. My brain was programmed now to send a message through my body "if you see Duncan, grit teeth and walk away".

"You know hot tubs are usually meant to be warmer than ten degrees below zero", he said warming his skin up even more until he was a bright red. Bubbles started to surface to the top popping over and over again.

"Well this hot tub is ", I squirmed in the water. I hated hot water, I preferred my cold. "And would you stop heating up the water!"

"Princess you need a little bit more heat in your life", he floated across the water to sit next to me. His heat nearly had me melting. "I can help with that". He nudged me with his shoulder leaving a red mark on my skin.

"No thank you", I gritted my teeth and cooled my own skin down. Soon my whole entire body was light blue. The bubbles stopped forming and there was a small frosty sheet of ice thickening on the top of the water. "Like I said I like my water cold, thank you very much".

He smirked at me and leaned in closer letting his heated body crack through the ice. "Yeah well I like my water hot", he stretched out his hand and threw a flame across the ice sheet heating up the water again.

"Well I didn't ask what you like, so I don't care", I lifted my own hand and added on another sheet of ice. I could feel small ice crystals forming on my skin. Squaring my shoulders I looked him in the eye and dared him to try it again. I was not going to lose this fight and I was not going to soak in water that had a temperature of a thousand and one.

"Well I answered anyway. Sides princess when have I ever asked you for your permission", Duncan slyly leaned in closer to me his blue eyes slowly turning to a passionate red. Orange flames were flickering in his pupils.

"Well you should try it! What are you even doing over here? Why don't you just go back over there and bother someone else!" Another flowing mass of ice crystals flew from my fingertips and surrounded him gluing him in place.

"Maybe I wanted to be over here".

"Maybe I don't want you over here"

"Yes I think you do"

"Funny didn't know you could think"

"Funny that you keep on changing the subject. You know you want me", Duncan lit a small flame on his finger and started to melt the ice around his body so he could move closer. I let out another stream of frost to undo his damage.

"Oh no you don't", I muttered laying on another layer.

"Oh **yes** I am", Duncan grew two large flames on his palms and covered my hands melting the sheet of ice I put there. My eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. We fought there hands clutched in a small battle over control.

"Hey Court you comin'?" Gwen walked over to the hot tub with a towel wrapped around her lower half showing over her swim suit. I looked around the pool hall to find that it was nearly empty besides Bridgette, Geoff and Leshawna waiting for us by the door.

"Uh-y-yeah I'm coming now", I cracked the ice around me and jumped out of the hot tub trying not to show my anger.

(Duncan)

"Um do you wanna tell us why you two where frozen in the hot tub while holding hands?" Gwen asked looking between us two.

"It's not what you think. Stupid orge ruining everything!", princess mumbled angrily starting to stomp away.

"Actually it's exactly what you're thinking. And i had fun with you two Princess. Can't wait 'til next time", I screamed after her heating my way out of the ice leaving floating chunks behind me. I could see her fingers start to turn blue again. I couldn't hide my smile now. The girls were quick to follow after her in hopes of calming her down. Personally I didn't think they could really calm her down if they kept laughing like that.

"Dude what the hell happened?" Geoff asked me clapping me on the back.

"Oh nothing, just had to warm Princess up a bit", I laughed my way back to my dorm shaking off a few icicles still hanging on my swim trunks.

**Yay! finally finished...thought it was going to take forever but it's done! tell me what ya think about it and thanks for reading guys. **

**Still love the reviews!!!! they make me smile :)**


	12. Chapter 12

(Geoff)

She was sitting only a few tables away from me and I couldn't stop staring. Today was the day I would finally get enough courage to ask Bridge out. My eyes followed her fleeting body towards the back of the breakfast line. Her friends, who usually went up with her, were hanging back at the table with trays of food already in front of them. Yes I could feel it, today was the day. I sucked in a breath and got up from the table to talk to the prettiest dudette in the room.

I didn't have to tell the guys where I was going, they all knew. Trent looked from me to Bridgette smiling. He nodded his head in approval.

"Good luck man", Dj pushed me towards the line.

"Alright man, you can do this. You got this", I whispered to myself that small encouragement as I followed her to the line for breakfast picking up a tray for myself. I silently started picking up random fruits, some of which were nowhere near the normal looking fruits I was used to. But it's what she had on her plate and I knew for sure she could never pick anything disgusting. Out of my peripherals I watched her calmly slip into another breakfast section. She hadn't even noticed my presence.

"Hey Bridge…Whatcha doin'?" I asked trying my best to keep the shakiness from my voice. She looked down at her plate and then back at me with a smile.

"Um nothing…just getting some breakfast", she held up an apple for me to see. The look in her eyes said 'duh'.

"Oh yeah, breakfast. I think it's really cool that you eat and stuff", I smiled sheepishly and immediately looked away. 'really cool that you eat'? Smooth move.

"Uh thanks", Bridge looked at me with a small smile and put her apple back on her tray. She continued down the line grabbing some toast. Thankfully she chose to over look my blunder of words but that didn't mean I was giving up. I followed after her quickening my pace.

"No prob. So uh you wanna hang out today? Maybe you could, like, show me how to surf", I picked up an apple that looked identical to hers. I rubbed the dim apple on my shirt inspecting it with unneeded observation. I needed to feign interest while trying to resist the urge to look into those golden green eyes.

"Oh yeah, well sure. How 'bout I meet you down there in like half an hour?" she said paying for her breakfast and returning to her table leaving me there awestruck.

Ten minutes later my daze was broken and I finally called after her, "Ok see you later then!" I finally did it! A date with Bridgette! "Woooooooo hoooo!" I shouted twirling myself in the air with a rush of wind.

--

"Ok you just have to focus on finding your center of balance", Bridgette eased off the board and made room for me to float by myself. As much as I tried to focus on the words she was saying I was more preoccupied with the way her mouth moved as she talked. Or the way her golden hair curled up after water sprayed it. Her fingers every now and then would brush against my skin as she tried to steady the rocking surf board. We both blushed and it got eerily quiet around us. There was no one else on the waters besides us. The beach was completely empty, on a Satrday, which was weird since most students went straight to the waters every chance they got. But I looked at my alone time with Bridge as just pure luck.

"You think you're ready to stand yet", Bridge was the first one to break the silence between us. She kept her head down noticing, like I did, how big the beach was when only two people were there.

"Totally", I breathed out and pushed myself up. It took me a while to get my feet up without completely falling off so it took more than a few tries.

"Just take your time and breathe", she grabbed my hand to help with my balance, totally taking me by surprise. I looked from her to our intertwined finger shocked but happy. Her tiny delicate fingers slipped so perfectly into mine.

--

"Thanks", I smiled and gripped her fingers a little tighter. she smiled back as her cheeks began to flush a very light pink.

A large wave came from behind and made its way to us. "You're first wave! Remember what I told you and don't fight against it, go with it. Good luck", Bridge swam a few feet away and watched me with a hopeful smile.

"Alright Geoff, don't screw this up in front of her", I reminded myself and balanced myself on the board. "It's just like a skate board", I repeated to myself over and over again as the wave came from behind. Shakily I lifted my legs, forcing my knees not to buckle under me. Using my arms to balance myself I crouched down waiting for the wave to approach. I had to prove myself to Bridge.

When the speed of water picked up I was surprised to find that it was easier then I had thought it to be. It wasnt quite like skateboarding but it was still close enough that I could easily stay up. I shot a look back to Bridgette who was swimming at a reasonable distance behind me. There was a light smile and her eyes lit up with pride. That was all the encouragement I needed. Looking forward I shook with freedom letting the wind whip across my face. whoops of joy escaped my lips as I craved for more. The rush, it was so exhilarating I understood why Bridgette enjoyed it so much it made me yearn to go faster. Stuck in the moment I swept my hands behind me sending a rush of wind with it. I picked up speed immediately. My body jerked forward with surprise and my footing was lost. Before I understood what was going on I was tumbling face first into the water.

"Ge-", was all I could hear Bridge say before I slipped under. From afar I could see a wad of blonde hair quickly making its way over to me. Bridge! struggled a bit to try and swim with her but my limbs were too badly beaten. She was only a few feet from me now and her face was lit with concern. She was mouthing and then all I saw was black.

(Bridgette)

I dragged Geoff back to the shore and set him down in the sand. "Hold on Geoff, just hold on", I placed my palms on his chest and pushed down hard multiple times breaking only to breathe air into him.

"Come on Geoff", I panicked pumping his chest one more time. He gained consciousness with a jolt and sputtered out water looking dazed. My shoulders relaxed in relief.

"Are you Ariel?" He coughed, fluttering his eye lids.

"Geoff I'm not the little mermaid, I can breathe under water remember?" I told him setting his head up on my lap. How hard did he hit his head?

"Ohhhh right", he set himself up on his elbows and shook his head trying to get whatever remaining water there was. "That was a harsh wipe out!" he looked up to me and smiled weakly. He looked so tired, but then again taking a crash like that could take a lot out of a person. He was sitting up fully now looking over his body for any scratches.

"Yeah I'm just glad that you're ok", I looked down at him and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"So how'd I do?" he asked smiling a little more. He had finally stopped coughing and his face was flushing with color washing the paleness away.

"Besides the crashing into the water part, pretty good", I chuckled brushing the same piece of hair again. For some reason it just kept detaching itself from the group.

"Well next time I won't try to go so fast."

"Next time? How bout we give it a rest for today we don't want another crash"

"Yeah bout that…thanks for saving me Bridge. I totally owe you", he sat up and facing me slowly moved his hand over mine smiling.

"It was no problem at all", I leaned in a little closer to his face as he did the same. Our fingers intertwined, crushing the sand under our palms together. Without thinking I pushed forward on instinct pressing our lips together.

I broke apart a minute later blushing at my rash movement. I looked away from his face afraid that he would be put off. What if he didn't want me to take that leap, or what if he didn't like me like that? The color in my cheeks deepened as my thoughts raced on. Curiosity got the better of me though and I had to take a peek. Would he be mad? Happy? I had to know.

The look on his face was far from mad in fact he wore a glazed over look and a goofy smile. He looked back down at me and still smiling took the initiative for the next kiss.

"Hey Bridgette we nee-ohhh", Leshawna said above us with Gwen at her side. They stopped walking over to us and were trying to non-chalantly act like they saw nothing.

"Um we're real sorry to intrude, but we need Bridgette's help", Gwen said still looking away from us. She kicked a rock by her foot and studied it as if it were an exotic creature.

I coughed and untangling myself from Geoff's body got up, "yeah no problem". I tried to act as calm as possible but I knew embarresment was written all over my face. "Um, I'll see you later Geoff", I called behind me smiling as I waved.

"Yeah bye", I heard him say but I was already following the girls back to the house.

(Geoff)

I watched Bridgette retreat into the trees, her smile still fresh in my mind. Of course I was a little upset that we were interrupted but my happiness at the moment could not be taken away. We kissed! A part of me still couldn't believe that she kissed me but I could still feel her amazingly soft lips on mine telling me it was all true. I sighed leaning back into the sand not ready to leave yet.

I played in the sand for a while rethinking the perfect moment over and over again in my head. Behind me I could hear a group of people coming through the clearing but I didn't look back. I wasn't ready to snap out of my dream.

"Geoff! How'd it go?" Trent came from behind and sat with me on the ground. Duncan and Dj weren't too far behind him along with a couple other people from our class.

"Huh?" I looked over to him completely out of it.

(Dj)

"Wow, he's definitely in deep guys", I said turning to the others behind me. I waved my hand in front of Geoff's face not expecting to get any response. He was looking off into the distance with one of the most lopsided smiles I've ever seen and every few seconds he would sigh.

"You're right Deej, he's off in wonderland now", Trent laughed waving his hand in his face too.

"So I take it went well?" I asked Geoff hoping that maybe we could get some news from his immobile body.

"Perfect", he sighed again and laid back into the sand closing his eyes, "Just perfect".

(Leshawna)

For most of the walk we all stayed silent with only the noise of crunching leaves to fill our ears. I was never shy about people getting freaky 'cuz Lord knows I've barged in on too many people, too many times, but Bridgette looked so red with embarrassment that I couldn't say anything. So I stayed quiet. Gwen I knew refused to look up from her shiny boots so it was up to Bridgette to break the ice. We were getting close to the house when the tension broke and Bridgette finally asked what was going on. So relieved, that I know it was showing on my face, I turned back to her and gladly retold our troubles. "We've been tryin' for hours to get Courtney out of her room, but the girl won't budge! The girl's been screamin' bout how it wasn't fair and there was 'no way she'll go out in public in her present state'", I rolled my eyes at the memory of her voice. She was mad cool when she was calm and always there to help to the best of her abilities but man that girl had some lungs.

"Yeah we've tried everything but she just wouldn't come out so we figured; who better to get her out than you?", Gwen interrupted opening the door for us and leading the way up to Courtney's room. She knocked on the door lightly and twisted the golden handle hoping that maybe it was unlocked now but luck wasn't on our side.

"Come on girl, ya know you wanna open the door", I called through the wood. I don't know why I was trying again because I knew I wasn't going to succeed. "Bridge why don't you try. There's gotta be somethin' you can do". I stepped out of the way and gladly ushered her forward.

Bridgette stepped forward and knocked on the door again. "Hey Courtney can you please open the door?" My eyebrows lifted, did she really think the door would just magically click open just because she asked nicely?

"No! I'm not coming out so forget about it!" Courtney screamed back. Everything fell silent and we looked back to Bridgette. If she couldn't figure out how to get in there then no one could.

Bridgette burrowed her eyebrows and smiling mischievously knocked on the door-this time a little harder and with purpose.

"I said no!" Courtney screamed again.

"Fine, don't let me in, I can just get Duncan to pick the lock", she called back in victory. Why didn't I think of that? Duncan the one person she couldn't "stand" would definitely be the only one to get her out. Man Bridgette's good! There was silence on the other side of the door but we didn't say anything else we needed the threat to soak in. A few more seconds of waiting later and the lock clicked. The door slowly creaked open and we triumphantly waltzed through.

Courtney was sitting on the corner of her bed, dressed in her bath robe and crossing her arms. Her eyes were narrowed and there was the slightest bit of nervousness in her face.

"That was a low blow Bridge", she muttered hoping her glares could burn us with shame. It didn't work.

"Sorry Court but I had to do it", Bridgette walked over to Courtney's bed and sat beside her. "Now can you tell me why you locked yourself in here in the first place?"

"Yeah I thought you were just getting in your bathing suit and meeting us down at the beach", Gwen asked taking a seat on her other side.

"That was exactly what I was planning on doing until I find out that my bathing suit was taken!" she threw her hands in the air exasperated.

"Taken? Are you sure it isn't just misplaced?" Bridgette asked her. There was worry creasing on her brow suggesting that she that she wasn't quite sure Courtney was acting her most logical at the moment.

"Yeah, why would somebody take ya bathing suit? Sounds pretty twisted if ya ask me", I said not masking my disbelief as well as Bridgette.

"No it was taken, I know it for sure! I always put it in the top drawer and when I looked it wasn't there! I'm telling you it was stolen", Courtney insisted.

"Ok it was stolen, but so what? Why not just borrow someone else's for now…someone's got to have a spare", Gwen rolled her eyes pointing out the many possibilities Courtney could take.

"I did", Courtney stood up from the bed and opened her robe revealing a flashy black bikini held together by two large metal rings. My jaw dropped at the sight in front of me. What the hell was she wearing?

"This is the outfit that you borrowed?" Bridgette asked, "Who is this from, Lindsey?"

"That's exactly who it's from", Courtney groaned twisting her frame in the mirror. It wasn't like she didn't have the body for it-because she did- but it was just so revealing! I could imagine Lindsey in something like this-in fact she was wearing something like this just the other day-but on Courtney it was well…shocking.

"Why'd you ask Lindsey? You know how she is with clothes. With her less is more!" I asked. Lindsey was nice and all but sometimes the clothes she wore amazed me.

"Because she's the only one my size, I asked a couple other people but they were either too small or too big. And she said this was her most concealing outfit…I doubt she even knows what that means", she gritted her teeth and closed her robe again. "You guys just go on without me".

"Ok so it's a little revealing but why not just wear a t-shirt and shorts over it?", I got her off the bed and handed her sandals over.

"Are you kidding me that won't work" Courtney asked rolling her eyes. "There is no way I'm messing up my nice clothes in that salty water just to get wet".

"So you can borrow a pair of shorts from me", Bridgette looked through her drawers to fish out a pair of faded denim shorts for me that looked big enough for Courtney's hips but not big enough that it wouldn't be tight. She saw the skeptical look on Courtney's face.

"Girl, ya got hips, deal wit it", I tossed the shorts over and pulled her off of the covers shooing her out the door.

"But I need a shirt!"Courtney screeched throwing her arms over the top of her body in protest. Her heels dug at the carpet in a failed attempt stop us from pushing her out the door. Bridgette turned around and quickly grabbed a tank top from the top drawer before running after us. She wasn't giving Courtney anyway out of this.

(Courtney)

How did I get talked into this! I was so positive-so sure-that I was going to stay in the room and just wait until I could get another bathing suit (preferably two this time- one as a backup) before I touched any form of water excluding the shower. And yet I was sitting on the beach wrapped like a burrito in one of Bridgette's towels watching my friends splash around in the water.

"Hey Court! Why aren't you coming in the water", Bridgette asked running up to me soaking wet. She was wearing Geoff's cowboy hat and a huge smile.

"You know exactly why", I mumbled bringing my knees to my chest and tightening the blue towel around me. Bridgette looked at me skeptically. She didn't think the outfit she put me in was bad, but I knew better. On her it would be just fine but on me, it was terrible! The ripped shorts were so tight on my thighs and behind that I could barely move without fearing one of the seams would pop. The pale blue tank top she gave me was no different. The fabric was impossibly stretched over my chest and so short on me that my belly button was showing. This was not an outfit I wanted other people to see even if it did show the same amount of skin as my previous swim suit. It was the principle of the matter.

"Oh come on Courtney it's really not that bad plus you're not too far away from the water. You can run in and no one will see you. You can stay in the deep end with me and be completely covered", she offered grabbing my hand and pulling my off the ground. "Come on it'll be fun".

As I got up I could feel the towel's fabric slowly fall from me and expose what I was wearing. My cheeks got hot and I tried to non-chalantly walk to the water but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being stared at by everyone.

"It's ok Courtney, no one's looking at your outfit. They're all in the water fooling around, they're too preoccupied", I thought to myself hoping repetition would solve my anxiety. It was somewhat helping too and got me to the water's edge where to my dismay I was stopped.

"Christina! Oh Christina wait!" Lindsey ran over to us in her own flamboyant two piece oblivious to the gawking men thanking God for her slow running skills. Seriously she had to be something out bay watch.

"Yes Lindsey?" I gave up a while ago trying to correct her it was more futile than stopping Duncan from annoying me.

"Hello ladies", a smooth familiar voice said behind me stiffening my posture...just great as if my day coudn't get any worse.

"What do you want Duncan", my eyes narrowed and my shoulders stiffened as I felt his breath on my neck. Too close.

"Well isn't it obvious Princess, I just wanted to pay special attention to you of course", he leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "It's ok you don't have to say anything, I know you're flattered".

My eyes rolled and just before I was about to tell him how flattered I really wasn't, Lindsey interrupted me.

"Oh! That is so adorable! You know I think you guys make such a good couple! Like, you guys might even be cuter than me and Taylor! Which is really really cute, so you too should be like totally flattered. But I'm sure you know", Lindsey said never taking a break to ever breathe. My mouth dropped in shock. Usually Lindsey was a little bit touched in the head so most of the stuff she said could easily be ignored. But thinking that Duncan and I could ever be a couple-a cute couple at that- was a new level of stupid.

"Lindsey were not-", I tried to cut in without showing any unnecessary aggression. Beside me, that cretin was shaking with laughter, which wasn't helping me control my temper in the least. But again she cut me off. This was really starting to annoy me.

"But I think you guys know how adorable you are, so I leave you too alone", she said calming down a bit. I began to relax. "I just wanted to come over and ask you if my swim suit fits. I wasn't sure if it did when I saw you come out with these shorts and stuff…So do they, like not fit or something?", her eyes grew wide with worry. And as much as she annoyed me I couldn't just look in her in the eye and tell her that her taste sucked and I nearly puked at the idea of being seen with such an outfit on.

"No it fits fine, I'm wearing it right now…I…just…didn't want to ruin it with all the icky seaweed in the water", I made a face of sheer disgust, disguising my nerves. She had to believe that story, right?

"Ohhh yeah really good thinking, that seaweed is pretty gross, that's why I only going swimming in my two pools at home", she nodded her head, easily accepting my lie. "Well I'll talk to you later then, you two have fun!" She ran off in a skimpy swim suit similar to mine giggling as guy after guy followed after her.

"God", I mumbled under my breath turning away from Duncan. Last thing I needed right now were comments from the peanut gallery.

"See, even air head Lindsey thinks you want me, Princess", Duncan stood over me with a cocky grin.

"She said we made a cute couple, NOT", I shoved him in the chest, "that I wanted you. Sides the girl is barely passing English, why would you take into account what she has to say?" My cheeks reddened from embarrassment. I knew I should've run when I saw her.

"Eh, same thing to me either way", he shrugged his shoulders at me. "Are you implying that what she says is a lie?" he dramatically gasped covering his mouth with pure amusement.

"She wouldn't know the truth if it hit her in the head", I said decidedly stomping over to the waters edge. Where was Bridge when you needed her?

"Ohhhh ok, so you're not wearing her bathing suit then", Duncan stepped back raising his hands in fake defense. My cheeks blushed and instead of dignifying him with an answer I sashayed into the water with my chin held high. Why give him the satisfaction?

(Duncan)

I looked at princess' fleeting form with mischief. Her chin was raised and she purposefully dragged her feet against the current to find her friend. She thought she won, by not answering me but her silence was all I needed to hear to know Lindsey was right. She was wearing a bathing suit from Lindsey and now I had no choice but to figure out exactly what that was.

"Hey Geoff!" I called after my boy running into the water myself. The gears in my head were already starting to spin and I knew just what kind of help I needed to accomplish it. Geoff came over with Malibu hanging on his side, the two were out of breathe and completely unaware of how tangled up their bodies were.

"Yeah dude, what's up?" Geoff panted in front of me pushing clumps of blonde from his eyes.

"I need your help for something, you too Malibu", I said nodding my head to his girl.

"Ok, what do you need?...Wait is this legal?" Malibu asked first slowly separating from Geoff's body. she looked at me warily expecting me to pop a knife from my back pocket any minute now.

"No, I was gonna rob a bank and see if you guys wanted in-of course it is!" I rolled my eyes at her. Really there wasn't even that much law breaking you could around here except pick pocketing and I could get through half the people here faster without their help. She still looked at eerily so I added, "I wanted to loosen Princess up a bit". My small smile lifted mischievously and so did hers.

"In that case, I'm in", she said looking off into the distance where Princess was laughing with Leshawna and Dj.

"Oh I am totally in!" Geoff yelled pumping a fist in the air.

"Perfect", I replied motioning for them to come a little closer to hear my plan. It was quite simple but if we didn't get the timing just right and enough people to join in then there was no way this was going to work. Well at least not without Princess noticing something.

----

A few minutes later Geoff and I were wading out to everybody else. Malibu had gone a head of us and was coaxing Princess and the others to swim out further where there was a bigger supply of seaweed. When we got to the group we wasted no time.

I held my hand up counting down the seconds in my head, 'one…two…' "Three!" I yelled out loud swamping Gwen and Leshawna with a glopping pile of seaweed first. Geoff for his part caught Bridgette and Dj as his targets, laughing the whole time. It didn't take long for them to catch on and soon seaweed was flying everywhere from person to person.

"Trent! Don't you dare", Gwen warned knowing her threat was not at all scary and was pelted to the ground. I looked to where Bridgette and Geoff were tossing green things back and forth and caught their eye signaling, that it was time. While I tried to keep myself busy by throwing a wad of seaweed at Dj, Geoff chucked a huge glob at Princess who had this far in managed to completely stayed seaweed free. The look on her face was priceless. Shock and anger rolled across her features as the wad collided with her just her tank top and shorts. Geoff had amazing aim, no wonder he used to be on the football team.

"Geoff!" Princess shrieked loudly running away from us and to the safety of land. I nodded towards Bridgette as she hurried after her to stop her from leaving all together. I was the first one to call it quits, putting my hands up in surrender to the rest of the girls. The guys followed suit pretending to be exhausted from the battle. I gave one nod to Geoff before splashing back to our towels on the beach. I didn't need victory from this short water fight because my real victory was even better.

Bridgette had managed to stop Princess from leaving and as I got closer I could hear her apologizing for not getting out of the way before her clothes got ruined and yadda yadda yadda. Malibu looked like she was nodding her head, forgiving her.

"Looks like victory went to the ladies today", I came up to Malibu and Princess trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Victory!" Princess shrieked again like I was stupid. "How is getting covered in uncomfortable slime victory!"

"Just wash it off", Malibu suggested innocently. She knew just as well as I did that there was no way she could get that slime out no matter how many times she used the beaches rinser. I feigned little interest in the conversation and tried to start one with Geoff. My ears were still opened to everything the girls said.

"It's this stupid cotton! It's soaking up everything like a sponge!" Princess clung at the fabric trying to ring it clean.

"So just wear the bathing suit, it's better than being all squishy", Malibu suggested innocently. I couldn't help but look over at Princess' face.

"There's no way I'm wearing this thing alone! I'll just head back to the dorms", she answered. My chest squeezed. All that effort in loosening her up for nothing. Great.

"Court, you know I just got off a date with Geoff, I could really use the support right now…please", Malibu thought quickly grabbing at her small wrist. I started biting my lip in anticipation, Malibu was even better at this than I gave her credit for.

Princess chewed her lip and looked from the crowd of strangers to her friends needing smile before finally caving in. "Fine, I'll stay. Just let me get out of this goop first", Princess sighed in defeat heading for the nearest rinser.

"And that is how you do it", Geoff smiled at his girl swinging her into his lap. They collapsed into laughter, a laughter that I ordinarily would join in but my attention was too preoccupied at the moment. My eyes were fixed on Princess who was already on her way back. She was drying her curly hair with a powder blue towel as she jogged back over to us. Watching her run over to us I could understand why she was so relunctant to show off her new swim wear. It was solid black two piece that stretched over EVERY curve of her body. Holding the fabric together was a shiny metallic ring on both sides of her hips and in the middle of her chest. My jaw dropped and I tightened.

"Shit", I mumbled. This was definitely a bad idea. I needed to look away, I knew I did but I couldn't for the life of me take my eyes off of her. Watching her jog towards us was like watching something from bay watch only better.

"Dude, you're staring", Geoff elbowed me in the ribs to snap me out of it.

"Huh?" I yanked my head from Princess and looked back at Geoff's knowing eyes, "What are you talkin' 'bout?" I asked trying to keep my head from turning back to Princess who decided to sit next to Bridgette right across from me….For me to see her perfectly…great.

--

By the end of the day we had managed to move towards a fire pit and rearrange ourselves so that I had magically ended up sitting next to Princess, which I think was the work of Trent and Geoff who were smirking triumphantly when I had nowhere else to sit but besides her. It still amazed me sometimes that they managed to know that I even liked her. Was it really that obvious beneath every fight I tried to pick with her. Or maybe they saw the quick glances I stole to see what she was doing. Whatever method of observation they choose, they figured it out and it was our silent promise with each other that we all knew but not a word was to be said about it…or else.

"So anybody know any good scary stories?" Geoff asked first. "Seems like the perfect night for one", he added looking up into the sky where a yellowish full moon casted ghoulish lights over all of us. He was right, it was the perfect night for one of my famous ghost tales.

"Yeah I know one…but it's a little intense", I warned them watching their eager faces. Excitement rose in me, that thrill right before I scared someone or broke the law ran through me, but I kept my face calm.

"Oh please it can't be that bad" Princess rolled her eyes shifting for a better seat touching my bare arm with hers. Her touch scorched my arm leaving my hairs to stand on end. Did she do that on purpose? Or was I simply imagining her body scooting closer to mine? I looked down for only a second before putting on my best mask.

"Ok, but you asked for it", I said confidently throwing back my arms so I could feel her touch one more time.

--

"The two kept running and running ignoring the pain scorching in their feet. All the while the noise behind them seemed to get closer by every second. Their hearts were pounding wildly as they jumped over fallen trees and stubborn roots praying to get back to the safety of their log cabin. The wind increased behind them and they knew without looking that they only had a few seconds to escape death so they pushed forward stomping up the dark creaking steps and yanking open their door. Just as they shut the door their follower slammed against the it pushing them back to the floor. The killer barged in with a trail of deadly wind gusting behind him. His souless eyes looked between the young couple and with a slight twitch he raised his hand exposing the crooked metal hook crudely attached to the stump where his hand should have been. The young couple clutched at each other in fear and nervously back themselves into a wall. They had no where to go, nowhere to run and no one to scream to. And just as they thought it was over, Jeffrey reached behind him to find the metallic knife the farmer had given him. He stood up and crashing into the killer, plunged the cool metal into the dark void of space that would normally hold a heart. With no emotion the killer stepped back clutching at his chest. His dark eyes peered into the young couple and in a gruffled voice right before he fell to the ground he said, "No End". The hook still plunged in the stump of his arm disappeared in a whiff of smoke. The body soon after followed. The danger of the hook handed murderer seemed over" I looked down solemnly slowly putting my hand behind my back to fish out the fake hook I brought with me in my bag. From the corners of my eyes I could see our small group leaning forward intensely listening to my every word. The look of shock was written all over their faces, especially Gwen's. She looked at me dissapointed that I would consider such a whimpy story to be in the least bit scary. She questioned me with her eyes asking, "A happy ending really?" Oh if only she knew what I was about to do. But still I kept my smile hidden and my head hanging in thought continuing my story.

"The two lovers had spent years quietly living in the city, keeping to themselves. They got married, started a family and rested easy knowing that the horrors of those woods would never bother them again. And one night as they returned home from a long vacation they saw it. In the very dark corner of their bedroom a figure loomed with eyes of crimson. In the black figure's hand was a gleaming metal hook! With a crooked smile he repeated the words he said right before he died...'no end' and lunged forward sweeping his rusty hook across their grief filled bodies".

They all stiffened with fear and I knew now was the time to finish it all off. "No one was if the hook handed murderer is still out there, or where he is", I whispered in hushed tones. "He could be in another country lurking in the woods for his next innocent victim or…" I looked from fearful face to fearful face. "Or he could be…HERE!" I flung out the hook in my hand and laughed menichally. There was a ton of screeches, yelps, and my favorite above everything else a girlish scream that lasted far longer than the rest from none other than Dj. My laughter of evil turned into just me laughing making my sides burn.

"That was not funny!" Princess was the first to reprimand me for my 'bad taste in jokes'.

"Oh I'm sorry was that a little too scary for you, Princess?" I smugly looked down at her. At first I wasn't sure if I could tell the story with her around. My conscious would never let me sleep tonight if I ruined her night, but I knew she could take it. She might get a little jolted but my Princess was tough. She could take any challenge in front of her- a quality that made me like her even more.

"No! It wasn't even a little bit scary…I …I was just concerned for Dj. That story nearly killed him!" she pointed across the flickering flames to Dj who was unsuccessfully trying to hide his bulky body behind Bridgette. He was shaking uncontrollably with both his hands covering his head for protection...how pathetic.

I looked back to her with an unchanged mood. It was so typical that she would try to shift the light off of her own self and shine it on Dj. "Oh, please! Like you weren't scared? I hlf expected you to run for the hills the first chance you had!"

"Shut up!" Her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet and she turned her face away from me mumbling something under her breath. Right on cue, in a very cliche way, a wolf howled into the night sending shivers up our spines. Princess abandoned her earlier feelings of anger towards me and clung to my chest tightly pressing herself against me....in her sexy, tight bathing suit. I could've stayed like that all night without ever moving. Her arms were so cold against my skin that it sent shivers down my spine. Her fingers were tightly spread apart and digging into my back-which didn't at all help me deal with her body pressing against me. Her brown hair suffocated me with that raspberry/vanillla shampoo she always wore. And though I'm sure she was unaware of it but as she looked out into the black night scared, her breathe tickled my chest leaving an invisible icy hot scar behind it. I acted on impulse and tightened my arms around her whispering in her hair with a gentleness that suprised me, "It's just a dog".

I didn't have to look up to see everybody staring at me. That was already evident, when I heard their snickers. Princess stiffened under my arms hearing the same thing I did. She looked up at me and then at her arms wrapped around my shirtless body like they disobeyed her orders. She pushed herself off of me and squirmed away to the other side of the long like she was sitting there the whole entire time. Again with red cheeks she huffed mumbling, "Stupid story wasn't even that scary". Geoff nudged me in the ribs with a smug look of accomplishment, tilting his thumb up in approval. Malibu who was much more open with her affection leaped right into Geoff's lap when she heard the wolf/ dog howling. She smiled as well looking back from an angry princess to me weirdly. I shrugged my shoulders acting like I didn't care and that it was all apart of my plan. They didn't need to know that the damn girl was making me soft or for the smallest moment the only thing on my mind was making sure she was ok and that I hadn't scared the crap out of her. I folded my arms across my chest nonchalantly taking the smallest peak back at Princess. She was already back to her normal stubborn self pushing into another conversation with Gwen and Leshawna. The color in her cheeks was slowly fading back to normal and although there was something in the way she was sitting that told me otherwise. I tried getting back into my own conversations but my attention couldn't stay on Trent's lastest song or the wild party Mathew was throwing tomorrow. My eyes would always drift back over to where Princess was. Sitting so close to the fire that it made her caramel skin glow. Her curly hair was framing her face loosely falling in front of her dark eyes. She had long ago pulled the baby blue towel around her shoulders hiding parts of her new bathing suit. M eyebrows scrunched together unsure of how to feel towards it. On the one hand looking at her in it made my day a perfect ten on the other hand it quickly made the day of most of the other guys on the beach. A intimidating as I knew I could be it was still a work out making sure every other guy knew to back off. I gritted my teeth just thinking about it.

_I was having a hard time disconnecting myself from Princess' side every since seeing her in that two piece but when nature calls, you gotta answer. I was literally gone from our small group for like two seconds but even that was too long. I searched the waters immediately trying to locate her again, feeling a small tug in my chest. What the hell was wrong with me? _

_Princess yelled something back to the girls before heading back to a large blue towel laid out on the sand. She moved at an incredible slow pace every now and then shaking her hair out and combing her wet locks back with her fingers. She finally made it to the towel and I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't think I could've taken another second of watching her run painfully slow and neither could my pants. Princess rummaged through a big burgundy sack taking out a water bottle and lifting it in the air for Bridgette to see. She yelled something else to her and then tilting her head back poured the_ _water into her mouth careful not to let the top touch her lips._

_"Oh God", I thought to myself memerized by her. I couldn't look away-not that I was trying to-but I knew if I did try it would be pointless. My body was determined to take in every movement she made and every little thing she did. I couldn't even help myself from following every drop of water that missed her mouth and landed on her chin and slid down her body._

_Not too far away from us the group of boys started cheering for one of their friends who finally found the courage to talk to the 'hot chick' they mentioned earlier. The blonde kid got up from his towel and squared his scrawny shoulders back heading in a straight line. At first I thought he would head off in maybe Lindsey's area-she wasn't too far away after all- but he kept going straight heading towards…Princess! I could hear my teeth grind as I looked at this sad excuse for a kid step up to my princess. Did he want a death wish? I had to get over there and show him what's what. I casually walked over there knowing that I was close enough that I would get there before he even got close. When I made it back to the towel I slide to the ground beside her ignoring her momentary glare. she could glare all she wanted to, that didn't mean I was going anywhere. _

_"Hey Princess", I said loud enough for the other guy to hear- he was close enough now that he could._

_She looked at me like I was crazy. "Um what do you think you're doing?" she asked crossing her arms. The blonde kid was frozen behind her now looking at me in horror. His eyes looked back from her to me wondering if I was enough of a threat to back down. He took a cautioning step forward. Stupid move. All I had to do was arch my eye brow at him for him to take the step backward. I slipped my knife out from pocket and switched it open casually cleaning my nails with the steel tip. I once again looked up from my knife to him questioningly. I didn't have to say it out loud for him to know. The knife in my hand said it loud and clear. "Do you really want to try me?" He didn't have to think twice before running in the other direction towards his friends. I relaxed a little and sat down next to her knowing he would spread the word-no body messes with my Princess except for me. _

_"You know just because you're vulgar doesn't mean you have to show it all the time", Princess said glaring at me and looking after the boy like she was a little sorry for him. But then the concern drifted away and now she was only angrily looking at me. And of course she wouldn't admitt it but the sag in her shoulders told me she was glad he was gone as well. I knew she wouldn't be that mad at me. _

_"What?" I said shrugging my arms, "That kid owed me money…it was just a fair warning"._

Yeah it was work letting them know what was what, but worth it. I looked at her small frame leaning towards the fire again. A small patch of ice was growing over her arm shielding her from the warmth and I had to smile. Every time we choose to go to the fire pits she purposely sat close to the fire growing a patch of ice to protect whatever body part was near the flames. It was her way of testing her abilities and I caught onto it the moment she started doing it. It was so typical of her to work even as she was supposed to be relaxing. Even if it was as little as practicing her skills against fire.

A mischiveous smile grew on my face and I flicked my index finger towards the fire melting the ice on her forearm. It instantly grew back fighting against the flame. Princess didn't even flinch away from the fire not suspecting a thing. I flicked my finger again towards the ice patch melting it away. This time Princess knew what was going on. She turned her head innocently as if she were just looking at the fire pit before shooting me a cold glare and coating her arm in a completely thin lining. If you hadnt watched her grow the thin ice before hand you would never know it was even there. Her eyes crackled with anger as a small flame slithered around her arm melting her hard work easily. Before the flame had the chance to touch her skin I pulled it back and into the fire. No one was fast enough to catch on to our little scruffle and thought nothing of how Princess slowly turned towards the fire to "warm her hands". Her hand flinched towards me throwing ice at my hand and causing them to temporarily be stuck together.

"What the-"I tugged at my hands smiling until the glow of my red palms melted away the icicle glue. I looked back up at her waving my free hands at her. The challenging smile on my face lit up but did nothing to her own smile. Gracefully she got up to her feet calling out her goodbyes. The towel around her shoulders teasingly slipped from her grasp and in an even slyer move she slipped it back into place never letting the smile lift from her face. Was she really just giving up like that? I looked up from my glowing hands to her retreating from. Her exit set off a chain and soon everyone was packing up and following her out. Still confused I got up as well or tried to anyway. The moment my feet touched the ground they slipped right under me sending me crashing into the log behind me. Everything was spinning around me and for a moment I could swear that I was seeing spots.

"Dude you ok?" Geoff bent over to haul me to my feet. Twisting over I was finally able to see what had brought me down. Where my legs were previously resting was a small patch of evenly laid out ice.

"Yeah I'm fine", I chuckled lifting to my feet. In the distance I could see Princess still walking away her upper body shaking with laughter.

"Smart Princess", I thought to myself. It was stupid of me to think she would just walk away. "Princess, you are so gonna pay for that" I mumbled to myself, my smile grew wider with mischief.

(Courtney)

I couldn't stop laughing as I jumped up the stairs two by two. It was just too perfect for it to be real. My only regrett was I didn't get to see it up close. I looked over my shoulder towards the beach smiling when something tugged at my chest creating a groan. If there was one thing I knew about Duncan is that I was so gonna pay that.

**Yay! it's done, sry it's been a while but I had the biggest writer's block ever but i finally have my ideas going again :D! so hoped you liked it and plz review!!**


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